The Captive Heart Show
by nozomi.no.uta
Summary: Radio personality Myde brings together twelve hopelessly hopeful people in the name of true love...and an insanely diverse song list. Various pairings including Namixas, CloTi, Zaerith, SoKai, Rion, AxelOC
1. Myde the Prince of Awesome

**Author's Comments: **Gahhh. I. Couldn't. Wait.

So this is my new project. This story contains _a lot _of firsts for me. The major challenge I'm faced with is telling the stories of more than one character (like in _Benefriends _or _The Kismet Scribe_); instead, I'll be describing the events of _several _characters—several _pairings_, no less, from_ each character's point of view_.

What the heck have I let myself get into this time?

_Benefriends_ was a huge joy for me to write and I want to continue writing and sharing with you. It took me a bit of time to come up with a new concept, but I came across **Katraa**'s piece called _Caller Number Nine _and I instantly thought of Demyx being a radio personality hosting a love song fest of some sort. Thus, _The Captive Heart Show_ exploded into being.

Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Kingdom Hearts; Final Fantasy VII;_ the songs _O-M-G_ (by Usher and Will I Am), _Dream Lover_ (by Mariah Carey), or _You Belong with Me_ (by Taylor Swift); the (italicized) lyrics to _If I Ain't Got You_ (by Alicia Keys); or the italicized line from _Unwritten _(by Natasha Bedingfield). I own Imani.

* * *

"And that was the hot single from superstar Usher featuring Will I Am called _O-M-G_," he said cheerily into the microphone, waving the wire of his headphones to the side so he could prop up his arms on the table. "You're listening to The Elixir on Arpeggio 101.3, your daily dose of the best mix of yesterday and today. This is Myde the Prince of Awesome hanging out with you, keeping you company on your drive home. Thanks for listening in—here's an old favorite: _Dream Lover_ from Mariah Carey."

With a flick of his finger he switched the mic off and let out a breath, his smiling lips puffing out as he exhaled. A glance at the clock on his computer told him it was it was five fifty-six. He still had a while to chill out before—

The button for line one flashed on the call board. Swiftly he pressed down on it and said into the mic, "This is Myde, the Prince of Awesome. What can I do for you?"

"You're not on air, are you?"

He blinked several times. "Imani?"

"I'm gonna take that as a no."

With a loud creak he leaned back in his chair while keeping the mic positioned an inch from his lips. "What's up?"

"Sora said to tell you that Leon told him that Cloud said you still had a spare roll of guitar strings."

"So?"

"He needs it. Sora, I mean."

"It's in my dorm. Zex should be there to give it to him."

"Okay."

He glanced at the computer. One minute left in the song_._ "Is that all?"

"I…yeah…"

His smile grew and he reached forward to click on another song to follow after _Dream Lover_, sticking the radio jingle in between_._ He sensed otherwise and made his assumption known: "No it's not."

A pause…then a rushed sigh. "Dem—"

"Imani, there's a reason I didn't get fired for starting this," he cut in patiently. "People _love_ this. Arpeggio's got the most listeners because of this. I know what I'm doing. Besides, _you_ were the one who told me to do something I'm good at."

Another pause—the silence of resignation. "I know."

"And I'm _really_ good at this, aren't I?"

"Don't flatter yourself."

He laughed and glanced at the clock on his computer again. Six oh-two. "I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay."

With another push of the button on the call board, he hung up and set the mic on the table again. In two hours, the real music would start to play—the music of the brokenhearted.

Demyx loved his job.

* * *

She eyed her pink cell phone, her lips twisted in a frown. Her knees were drawn up to her chest closely as if she would spill her anxiety if she didn't try to compress herself into the smallest shape possible.

_"Some people want diamond rings, some just want everything—"_

It couldn't hurt, could it? As long as she didn't use real names, no one would know…but a part of her _wanted_ to be known, to be recognized. She wanted to be recognized by that person…but what if that would make things awkward between them?

_"If I ain't got you baby…"_

She groaned. Loudly. Thank goodness Selphie was at a study session several blocks from their dorm. She'd have a field day if she saw her doing this.

Her hand trembled as she reached out to snatch her phone and dial a number. Her other hand shook just as fiercely as she turned down the volume of her radio. She could never say she lived life without taking risks…especially when it came to one like this.

She pressed the green button and apprehensively brought the phone to her ear. The ringing echoed ominously and her heart hammered and she bit her lip—

"Hey, this is The Captive Heart Show. Who's calling?"

A squeak escaped her as she jumped at the sudden voice. "H-Hi Myde. This is…" She caught sight of her lucky charm sitting on her bedside table—a star-shaped amulet made of thalassa shells. "Th-Thalassa."

"Thalassa? Like the shell, right? That's a pretty name."

"Th-Thanks."

"Thalassa, tell us who's on your heart tonight."

She swallowed down the nerves building up in her throat and mumbled, "His name is S…Sky."

"Thalassa and Sky." She could hear his smile on the other side of the line. "I like that. It's got a nice ring to it. So what's going on between you two?"

There. The moment to lay it all down. Her heart picked up speed as she forced out the words before the rest of her courage disappeared. "W-We've been best friends since we were kids, but…but I've been in love with him ever since last year."

"And he doesn't know and you're afraid of telling him because you don't wanna ruin your friendship."

Her hair tickled her shoulders and neck as she nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, Thalassa, from what I can hear, you sound _so_ scared of telling him that you don't wanna use real names because of the possibility that he might be listening."

For the second time she jumped. Was it that obvious?

Myde laughed good-naturedly. "Hey, it happens, but anyway: What's Sky think about the idea of starting a relationship with you?"

"I…We've never talked about that before," she admitted.

"Then start there. Try hinting at the idea and see what he thinks. He'll be honest with you. What kind of a best friend would he be if he wasn't?"

The pages of her memory flipped furiously but she couldn't find an instance when "Sky" had ever been dishonest with her. "That's true…" A hesitant smile tugged at her lips. "Thanks."

"I hope that helps. Keep us updated, 'kay? I really hope things work out between you and Sky."

"O-Okay. Thanks, Myde."

"Anytime."

She pulled the phone away from her ear and hung up. Hint at the idea, huh? It was worth a try.

As she put her phone back on her bedside table next to her lucky charm, she began rehearsing in her head. She had until her second class tomorrow to come up with hints.

* * *

Demyx drummed his fingers absentmindedly to the drumbeat of _You Belong with Me_ with a grin. The moment that caller said hello he instantly knew who it was. He could practically picture her fumbling with her phone and glance around her dorm room for an alibi idea. It was only a matter of time before one or the other called.

Thalassa and Sky. "_Thalassa_ and _Sky_." Oh yeah, it had a nice ring to it…just like "Kairi and Sora."

He switched his mic on again and pressed line three's button on the call board, flicking an eye to the input volume before crooning, "This is The Captive Heart Show—Myde the Prince of Awesome speaking. Who's this?"

Yeah. He loved his job.

* * *

He stretched out the kinks in his neck as he pushed open the back door of the kitchen, scuffing the dirt off the bottoms of his boots before stepping on the wooden floor. Tifa made it very clear that she didn't like it when anyone tracked in mud. Very, very clear.

At least Zack was on the receiving end of Tifa's rage instead of him. He made sure to crack open a beer for the poor guy after he'd scrubbed the floors until they sparkled.

"Welcome back."

Electric blue met coffee brown and he nodded silently to the girl sitting on a stack of soda bottle crates in the corner. She leaned against the counter and sipped her half-empty glass of water. "How's Yuffie?" she asked quietly. "Vincent hasn't killed her yet, has he?"

He shook his head while shrugging off his coat and tossing it onto one of the chairs against the wall. Only the radio sitting above her on the counter kept the silence at bay. A song he'd never heard before—which, he'd admit, could be _any_ song since he rarely ever listened to the radio—quietly finished off as he tugged the fridge open and grabbed several containers of leftovers to heat up. He vaguely wondered why she wasn't lounging in the bar area and listening to the radio out there…

Unless…Was she listening to that crap again?

When he slowly turned from the fridge to send his silent question her way, she sighed and rolled her eyes. "It's not _crap_," she insisted. "It's—"

"I'm in love with my boss, Myde! What do I do? Oh, what do I _do?_"

"Now, now, Georgiana. Calm down. It's not the end of the world."

Her jaw tightened and she cringed. He arched an eyebrow. _What _wasn't crap?

"It's _sap,_" she clarified, downing the rest of her water in one gulp before getting to her feet and placing the glass in the sink. "There's a difference."

As he peeled off the covers of the containers, he took the plate she pulled out for him from the cupboard with a nod of thanks and a skeptical glance. What was the difference?

"As ridiculous as some of this sounds, these are _real_ people calling in to ask for help for their _real_ problems. They need a listening ear and a voice of reason during this time when all they can think about is their distress." A corner of her mouth quirked up in a smirk. "I'd listen in sometime, if I were you. You might be able to pick up a few pointers to help you with—"

"Cloud."

His eyes darted to the doorway. Tifa's wine-colored eyes blinked owlishly at him for a moment before she smiled warmly. "You're home."

He nodded while chanting in his head, _Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out._

As she turned to look at the girl, a few strands of her long, beautiful hair trickled over her shoulder. "Imani, Meg said she and Hercules could give you a ride back to your dorm."

"You're okay for the rest of the night?"

"We'll be fine now that Cloud's here."

A particularly strong beat left his heart frozen for a moment at her words. Tifa flashed him another small smile before disappearing back into the bar. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.

Imani strode to the closet next to the fridge, taking out a dark jacket and a grey tote bag. When she emerged and closed the door, she pointedly glanced at the radio then at him. "It couldn't hurt. He's actually pretty good."

He simply averted his gaze to the containers of cold food before him, jiggling them over the plate and dumping on various amounts. Listen to that crap? He had his pride.

She chuckled quietly, patting him on the shoulder as she walked out. "Night, Cloud."

As the door swung shut after she left—and _intentionally_ left the radio on—he took his food-laden plate to the microwave next to the radio, threw the plate in, pushed the door shut, and set the timer. A new song—a ballad—lilted on the air in the kitchen as the microwave did its work. Calloused fingertips tugged out one of the drawers for a fork. Soon the microwave beeped.

"You're listening to The Captive Heart Show on Arpeggio 101.3…"

He took his warm plate out and stabbed at his food. Listening to this crap had to have been better than letting the silence drown him in his thoughts.

* * *

"That's what you're going to say to him?" she asked, glancing at her redheaded cousin momentarily before continuing to pencil in one of the leaves of the flower arrangement in front of them.

Slight panic laced her usually bubbly voice. "Why? Is that too obvious?"

"No, no. I think that's good…"

"No you don't."

She sighed quietly. Why did every pair of people who loved each other deeply have to be painfully oblivious to the other's feelings, especially when the pair had been best friends since childhood? It was the cruelest cliché in the book.

"I know! Why don't you ask him for me?"

A stray line stuck out from a flower petal as she jerked her head up to gape at the girl. "Me?"

"Yeah," she answered with a nod, her blue eyes glowing excitedly. "Ask him if he's ever thought about going out with me."

Small wrinkles creased in her brow. "But…"

"Please, Nam? Imani wouldn't do it if I asked her, Riku doesn't talk to me about these things, and Demyx wouldn't tell me what Sora said. You're the only one who can do this."

"I don't think I should be doing something like that in the first place, Kairi."

Her cousin winced. "Y-You're right…" she sighed.

With her free hand she squeezed Kairi's shoulder encouragingly. "Just tell him what you told me. It'll be fine."

The redhead shot her an unconvinced look, her lips frowning.

"Look at it this way: you've got something to hope for."

Kairi's frown vanished, her pearly teeth nibbling on her lower lip as she took the hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze of her own. "He's out there, Nam."

She could only smile. The last huge crush she had was in _elementary school_—a boy with bluer-than-blue eyes and golden hair that fell into those eyes like tangible sunlight. They weren't close back then, but they got along as fine as any boy and girl their age would.

They'd lost contact after moving on to different middle schools. She doubted she'd ever see him again.

* * *

His loud buzzer roared in his ears. He squeezed his eyes closed, lifting an arm lazily to shut up the alarm clock. Oh, how he hated waking up before noon…but he still slithered out of bed with the covers hugging his body, fruitlessly calling him back. Imani wouldn't be happy with him if he was late to class _again._ Playing romance counselor, even if he brought people together in the glorious name of love, was no excuse to slack off in school, according to her.

A yawn stretched his mouth as he got to his feet and extended his arms above his head, groaning loudly. As his arms slapped his legs on their way down, he hummed randomly and went to look out the window at the sun-kissed courtyard. No need to be quiet since Zexion was at class already. The guy was a night owl _and_ an early bird.

Hm. His window was dirty.

Suddenly his breath caught in his lungs. He felt his bones sizzle and his blood course through his veins. Images and sounds of smiling faces and heated arguments and shattering glass and huddled figures in dark corners and tight embraces and tears and laughter and anxiousness and insecurity and jealousy and hopelessness and _love_ danced in his head.

Something amazing was about to happen. It hummed in his body and sang in the air. It riffed along the strings until his fingertips tingled. It beat in his chest like a powerful drum. It _blasted_ in his ears. Something _amazing_ was about to happen.

He couldn't hold it back. A huge smile annihilated all sleepiness he had moments before. He turned to his dresser, snatched a pair of jeans and a band t-shirt, and headed for the bathroom, singing under his breath: _"The rest is still unwritten…"

* * *

_

**Author's Afterthought: **Ta-dah! What do you think? The writing style is a little different for me, but I hope you liked it. I can't guarantee weekly updates like usual but I'll try my best.

For those of you who don't know who Imani is, I suggest reading either _Benefriends_ or _The Kismet Scribe_. (_Benefriends_ is much shorter than _The Kismet Scribe._) You don't have to, but you'll probably be a bit less confused about her if you do.

Please leave a review and share your thoughts with me. Thank you for reading!_  
_


	2. Acquainted and Reacquainted

**Author's Comments: **I changed some of the properties of this story; keep in mind that **this story will _not_ focus completely on one pairing**. Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoy this next chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Kingdom Hearts._ I own Imani.

* * *

As he skimmed over the set of problems Professor Sark assigned, he had to wonder for the billionth time: What did Advanced Calculus have to do with Worlds History? When was he _ever_ going to have to know what "x" equaled? _When?_

"You may work with a partner or two for the remainder of the period," Professor Sark droned.

Immediately he scooted his desk closer to the one directly on his left—the one his best friend of nineteen-ish years was sitting in. "This is like high school all over again," he grumbled.

Kairi nodded. "Tackle and compare like old times, then?"

"Like old times."

For the next half an hour he and Kairi diligently resisted the urge to tear their hair from their scalps and tugged their brains to figure out the solutions. One hand's tanned fingers typed into his calculator while the other hand scribbled in numbers and symbols and so did Kairi's and her hair was shiny and looked _soft_ and it looked more purple than red under the fluorescent which was kind of weird but it still looked good on Kairi because _anything_ looked good on Kairi—

Oh.

"Done!" Kairi exhaled in relief, glancing up at him with those crystal blue eyes of hers. Her soft-looking hair fluttered as she lifted her head. "You ready?"

He nodded fervently, doing his best to shake away the warmth in his face without making himself dizzy. They took turns reciting their answers, erased and rewrote occasionally, then shut their textbooks and set everything to the side once they deemed they'd answered most of the questions correctly. Advanced Calculus had little to do with Communications, either.

"I was talking to Olette the other day and she said she and Hayner had been friends since elementary school before they started dating," Kairi suddenly said.

He blinked and nodded despite musing how _random_ this topic was.

"That's kind of cool, huh?" A dazzling smile graced her pretty face. "Two best friends deepening their relationship."

Another bout of heat singed his cheekbones and he nodded again to shake it off. Of _course_ it was cool. He wished he and Kairi could have that kind of relationship. "It happens a lot, right? Lots of people date their best friends and then they get married—"

He clamped his mouth shut with a loud snap of his teeth. Get _married?_ He just mentioned getting married in front of _Kairi_.

She didn't seem to notice—she only widened her smile. "Yeah, I guess so, huh?"

He chuckled to cover up his embarrassment and she flipped open her planner to review her week. She'd look really, really good in white…and her fingers were nice and slim, neither bony and spindly or chubby and sausage-like…She'd definitely draw attention to them if there was something to give a sparkle like a _ring_—

"You wanna grab lunch after this at Timeless River, Sora?"

"Yeah!" he chirruped and she smiled again. When she turned back to her planner, he let a small grimace contort his face. He doubted she'd smile as freely if she ever caught wind of what he thought about when he was around her.

* * *

He drummed his fingertips on the marble reception desk. Today had to have been the slowest day he'd ever worked. Divine Rose had less than ten customers come in this morning and only six appointments were scheduled for this afternoon. Was he _really_ required to be here?

Twelve twenty-two, his watch read. Sure, he only had less than two hours left of his shift, but was standing around idle worth the fourteen-munny-per-hour wage he had? He figured he could go without twenty-eight munny.

…Well, actually, no, he couldn't. Damn tuition.

Just as he was about to slump onto the desk and begin banging his head, the bell above the glass front door tinkled. He raised his eyes to the walk-in…and felt his heart stop. A blond girl in a white sundress entered, her blue eyes darting around the salon. She shouldered a tote bag and her arms were wrapped around a few notebooks.

He blinked repeatedly before his lips pursed into a small frown. She was pretty—_beautiful_, really—but there was something about her that nagged him…Why did he feel like he'd seen her somewhere before…?

"Hello," her soft—dare he say it, _angelic_—voice said as she approached the desk with a small smile. "Is Luxord in right now?"

With a slight shake he both answered her question and shook the hazy daze clouding his brain. "Uh, he just went out to lunch. He'll be back around one."

"Oh, I see. Um…okay." She offered another smile before turning around for the door. "Thank you."

"Did you need something from him?" he blurted. He had to find out why seeing this girl nagged him.

"Oh no. I just wanted to say hi. That's all."

"I can tell him you came by. What's your name?"

He congratulated himself. That was pretty smooth, asking for her name under the guise of helping her out. _While_ helping her out. Of course he wanted to help her out.

"Namine," she replied.

He let the name roll around on his tongue. "Namine…"

Namine…Namine…Gah, he knew he heard that name _somewhere_ before…

"Excuse me for asking," Namine gently cut into his thoughts, walking back to the desk, "but ha…have we met before?"

She was wondering the same thing? He _had_ to have known who she was now. "I…I don't know…um…" He racked his brain for some sort of trigger to remind him. "My name's Roxas, if that helps. Roxas McCartney."

Apparently it did.

"Y-You're _Roxas?_" she cried, clapping a hand to her mouth. Her blue eyes widened tremendously. "Roxas from Twilight Town Elementary?"

A bit startled she'd know something like that, he hesitantly muttered, "Y-Yeah, I went there when I was a kid…"

"Me too! I remember you! You're the boy I was always paired up with for drawing class!"

He wrinkled his nose and flicked his eyes all over the salon as if searching for the memory. Drawing class? There was a drawing class? Oh right, and they were partnered to compare and give pointers to each other or something…and he was always with a blond girl with blue…eyes…

"Oh my God!" He snapped his fingers and pointed one at the girl. "_Namine Snow?_"

She nodded excitedly, her smile growing bigger by the second. "Yeah, that's me!"

"No way! It's been _forever_ since I last saw you!"

"I almost didn't recognize you. You hair is different." He could feel her gaze touch on his spikes. "It looks good."

"Thanks." He ducked his head slightly before asking, "Why didn't you go to Twilight Town Middle School?"

"I moved here because of my mom's job."

"Oh…So you've been here since then?"

"Yeah…and you've been in Twilight Town?"

"Up until recently. I just moved here a few months ago because I'm going to HBU."

"Really? Me too!"

He could laugh out loud. This just kept getting better and better.

"What're you majoring in?" she asked.

"Communications."

"Oh so do you know Kairi Panettiere? She's my cousin."

"The redheaded girl, right? Yeah, I've seen her around once or twice." He let his eyes roam her pale face—her eyes, her soft-looking cheeks, her lips…"I can see the resemblance."

"A lot of people mistake us for twins," those lips moved.

He forced his eyes back to hers, stuffing his embarrassed laugh down his throat. "So what's your major?"

Namine lifted up one of the notebooks in her arms—a sketchbook. "Art."

"Sounds like you," Roxas chuckled almost fondly at her. "You were the best drawer in our class. I liked watching you draw."

"I remember having to remind you to draw your own picture before time ran out." She laughed and the corners of her eyes crinkled.

His cheeks tugged back, widening his smile. He really liked her laugh. It wasn't shrill or irritating. It was quite pleasant. And contagious. Did she laugh like this when they were in elementary school?

"So Roxas, I see you've met my cousin."

Roxas nearly leapt out of his skin when he spotted the blond hairdresser standing next to Namine. He couldn't remember hearing the bell above the door ring. Was Luxord always standing next to her?

"Hello Luxord." Namine unwound an arm from her books to hug the man. "Did you just get back?"

Luxord smirked, arching an eyebrow. "Quite honestly, I've been standing here watching you two go back and forth for the past five minutes."

Roxas blanched. Five minutes?

Her cheeks looked like they were tinged with pink. Roxas couldn't tell if it was the lighting or not, but he thought the pink looked nice. "W-Well I just wanted to drop by to say hello and then we realized we went to the same elementary school."

"Is that so? How nice it is that you two have reunited after all these years."

"Yeah. I have to get going. My class is going to start in a little bit." She backed towards the door once again. "It was nice seeing you again, Roxas."

Something sank in his chest. She was leaving already? "Yeah, you too. Maybe I'll see you around?"

"That'd be nice." She smiled one last time at him before turning and exiting the salon. His eyes followed her until she moved out of his line of sight. Whatever sank in his chest now soared high.

Namine Snow. He really hoped he'd see again soon.

* * *

She compared the reports with narrowed eyes. Once again, the test results of Mr. Ansem's examinations troubled her. Nothing about his condition made sense. Neither she nor any of the veteran doctors at Hollow Bastion Medical Center could determine what caused Mr. Ansem's peculiarities.

"Your thoughts, Dr. Flynn?" she quietly asked the other doctor in her office.

His coat rustled beside her as he reached up to rub his forehead. "I'd say he had dementia, but his cognitive ability is as sharp as mine," the young doctor muttered. "No disorientation whatsoever and he passed all the tests with flying colors."

"Any suggestions as to what we should try next?"

"Have you tried a behavior neurologist?"

"We've tried two."

"Third time might be the charm."

Despite the tired smile his lightened tone brought upon, she sighed wearily and finally put the reports down. "Perhaps we'll need to sleep on it more."

"I thought you didn't sleep."

She thought of droopy blue eyes and her smile grew. "Zack guilt-trips me by refusing to sleep unless I'm sleeping, too, even if he's just come home from a long shift at Seventh Heaven or night classes."

Dr. Flynn's smirked, stuffing his hands into his coat pockets. "So, Dr. Gainsborough…when do I get to meet the lucky guy?"

A glance at the clock on the wall told her their shifts were over for the night. Two pairs of green eyes met as she shrugged off her own coat and hung it on the back of her chair. "Are you free now?"

* * *

His eyes raked the angular man up and down, taking in his fire truck red hair, acid green eyes (lined with thin black pencil, no less), and triangular tattoos with an amused smirk. Aerith didn't mention that her best student looked like a rave hopper. It was refreshing, to say the least.

"Axel, this is my boyfriend Zack," Aerith said as she took a seat on one of the cracked leather stools.

"So you're Axel Flynn, huh?" he drawled, reaching over the counter to extend a hand to the guy. "Aerith talks about you a lot. A _lot._ I gotta remind her I'm a jealous man otherwise she'll go on and on."

After shaking his hand, Axel reached back to scratch the back of his spiky red head somewhat sheepishly. "Even _I_ don't think I'm worth talking about _that _much."

He scoffed, "You kidding me? You're the youngest intern doctor at HBMC. 'S a pretty big deal especially since _Aerith_ taught you."

She smiled, rolling her emerald eyes before asking, "Is Imani working?"

"She's in the back. Lemme go grab her." Zack strode the length of the counter until he reached the kitchen door, wiping his hands on his jeans. He pushed it open and found the girl sitting on her soda bottle crate stack, rolling her eyes at something Miles or Mike or whatever-his-name-is said on the radio.

A smirk tugged at his lips. "I don't see how listening to that sap nearly every night _doesn't _make you a secret hopeless romantic."

"You're forgetting who you're talking to," she deadpanned.

"Fine. Deny it." He held up his hands easily then jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "Aerith's here. Thought you might wanna come say hi."

She settled into the corner further. "Give me a minute to continue being a _secret hopeless romantic_."

Zack's smirk etched deeper into his face. "She brought _Axel Flynn_ with her, too."

He watched smugly as her jaw dropped and she leapt to her feet. "A…Axel Flynn? _The_ Axel Flynn?"

"Maybe," he said with a shrug and a wink before turning around to head into the bar area again. "Only one way to find out."

As he emerged from the kitchen he heard Imani exhale sharply—exasperatedly—behind him and let a chuckle slip from his mouth. He loved messing with his favorite cousin.

Aerith's eyes landed on the girl following him out. "Hello, Imani."

"Hi," Imani answered, coming to a stop right next to him and jamming her thumbs into the pockets of her shorts. Her eyes flicked to Axel's…lingered there until her smile began to fall…then quickly tore back to Aerith's. "W…What's up?"

Zack eyed the girl with a quirked eyebrow. He hadn't missed that stutter…and she only stuttered whenever she felt flustered or nervous (a little-known, nearly untraceable habit he'd learned over the years). She was never flustered or nervous in front of Aerith.

"Axel," his girlfriend began, "this is Imani Brisce. She's one of my freshman students."

Oh, but Aerith came with a certain redheaded medical prodigy tonight.

"A future colleague, huh?" Axel's lips pulled back into a slightly feral grin aimed at Imani. "What field are you looking into?"

Her round face looked as if it was taped back by the cheeks into a stiff smile. She cleared her throat and murmured, "Cardiology."

"Nice. That goes hand-in-hand with neurology."

He forced down his other eyebrow from arching up to meet one already raised. Zack felt his ears itch at the husky edge in Axel's voice and the alarms going off in his head. Was he _flirting_ with his little cousin? In front of _him?_

Well, Axel didn't know they were cousins, but still…

Zack saw Imani shrug nonchalantly and at once the tension building up in his neck and shoulders lightened. For once, he approved of her attempt to play cool. He readily supported the walls she put up to block her fluttering insides and her trembling knees. (He wasn't sure how many walls she had, but as long as they were all up, he didn't care.) Good thing the counter sat between the two of them, too. Maybe he could run to his apartment and bring back that bulletproof shield for Imani—

"Zack, I need a scotch on the rocks."

He tore his eyes away from Imani to glance at the other waitress on duty tonight. Reluctantly he turned his back to the group of people to grab a glass and a bottle of scotch.

"O-Oh my God, you're Axel Flynn, right?"

The cap dug into his calloused hand as he twisted it off.

"Yeah, and you are…?"

"Larxene Gray. I'm a junior at HBU."

The amber liquid splashed over the ice cubes in the short glass with tiny clinks.

"Do you know Demyx O'Donohue?"

"Yeah, we've got a class together—"

Imani was best friends with Demyx. Where was she…?

Blue glanced to his right just as the kitchen door swung shut. A frown pulled down the corners of his mouth. She reached her limit.

He quickly glanced at Axel and saw him shift on his stool to face Larxene a little better. They talked with the ease of long-time friends, smiling and laughing. Neither seemed to notice the disappearance.

Fine. Larxene and Axel could become better acquainted. He didn't need to worry about Larxene. She knew how to take care of herself.

Setting the cool glass on the waitress' tray, he asked Aerith and Axel, "Drinks for either of you?"

Briefly Axel broke from his conversation with Larxene to shake his head. "I'm driving."

"Water, please." As he poured her a glass, Aerith wondered aloud, "Where did Imani go?"

Another glance at the kitchen door. "She probably had to take care of something. She'll be back."

When he set her water before her, Aerith locked eyes with him, her brow furrowed. _Is she okay?_

With an upward flick of his eyebrows he gave her a look before striding back down the length of the counter, assuring her he'd go check on the girl. He made sure to shut the kitchen door before stepping over to Imani's corner. She tapped her finger on her knee in time to the ukulele strumming of the song playing on the radio—_his and Aerith's_ song.

Suddenly a rush of nerves poured down on him from his head and dripped to his toes. Work and school had completely erased it from his mind…crap. It was tomorrow. Tomorrow. Oh God, it was _tomorrow._

"So…it's tomorrow."

He swallowed thickly, crossing his arms to keep them from quivering at his sides. "Yeah. You and Teef can manage the place alright by yourselves, yeah?"

She nodded. "Meg will be here, too. Don't bother yourself over us."

His nerves sizzled, forcing his fingers to twitch and his muscles wouldn't stop fidgeting. "It's not supposed to rain tomorrow, right?"

"I don't know. I didn't watch the news."

Panic whipped up a whirlwind in his mind. What if it rained? What if she didn't like any of it? What if it wasn't romantic enough for her? What if she said—

"There's that shack, right? You can still see everything from there even if it does rain."

Oh God. His plan was going to fail. He was going to fail tomorrow. He was going to _bomb_ it—

"Zack, you're overreacting. The Prince of Awesome says it's bad to let your anxiety control your actions and decision-making."

Several loud laughs erupted from outside the kitchen—a high-pitched squeal, a gentle giggle, and a harsh bark. He jumped a few inches into the air, hastily gripping the counter to still himself and catch his breath. "B-Before I forget," Zack grunted, "keep your guard up when you're around that Axel guy."

She blinked and scoffed. "Why? You're expecting me to fall for him?"

"I'm serious, Imani."

Their song played during the pause Imani took to study his stern glare. "I'll be careful," she told him quietly.

"Good." With a sigh he snatched Imani's wrist and pulled her up. "Come on. Aerith's worried about you."

* * *

**Author's Afterthought: **Please leave a review! Thank you for reading!


	3. Resolutions

**Author's Comments: **Hello! Hope your week went well and that this week will be even better for you, no matter what's going on. Thanks to everyone who left reviews. Here's the next chapter; please enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Kingdom Hearts; Cheese Problems Solved_ (by P. McSweeney); or the songs _I Wanna Dance with Somebody_ (by Whitney Houston) or _Somebody to Love _(by Justin Bieber and Usher. I own Imani and Aden.

* * *

The moment _I Wanna Dance with Somebody_ started playing, he slipped off his earphones and dashed for his backpack, rummaging around for his water thermos and a granola bar. He kept himself bent near his backpack as he downed everything so he wouldn't risk dirtying the equipment with his sticky fingers or spilling water on anything electronic. He really wasn't supposed to be eating in here, anyway, but oh well. His boss couldn't fire him without risking outraged emails and phone calls from listeners.

Once he shoved the half-emptied thermos and the wrapper into his bag, he straightened up and glanced at the call board—line one was flashing. The earphones hugged his head and he pressed the button. "This is the Captive Heart Show—Myde the Prince of Awesome speaking."

"Hi Myde. This is Thalassa from last night."

"Thalassa! Hey!" He shot another glance at the computer screen to monitor the song. "You know what? Can you hold on until the song ends before you update us? I wanna be sure everyone can hear you."

"S-Sure."

Aww. Kairi stuttered. Demyx took a moment to let his smile soften fondly.

His lips mouthed a countdown as he watched the last few seconds of the song go by, drumming his fingertips on the table not to the beat of the song but to the beat of his nerves. This was, perhaps, the thing he liked least about his job (besides the thing about not being allowed to eat in the studio). He hated (well, not _hated—_strongly disliked?) waiting for songs to end so he could hear about the aftermath of his advice. Most of the time, his advice worked, but there _was_ the occasional—

Yes-s-s-s! The song's done.

"And that was Whitney Houston's _I Wanna Dance with Somebody,_" he began, going right into an introduction for Kairi: "For those of you who weren't listening last night, I talked to a girl named Thalassa who told me about her dilemma with her best friend Sky. See, Thalassa's known Sky her entire life and recently she realized she had feelings for him but she doesn't want to ruin their friendship. I suggested to her to hint at possibly starting a relationship with Sky and to see what he thought of the idea. I have the _brave_ Miss Thalassa on the line here to give us an update!" He pinched the input dial and moved it upward to increase the volume. "So how'd it go, Thalassa?"

"I-It went pretty well, I think," Kairi's crinkly through-the-phone voice replied.

"Tell us what happened."

"U-Uh, I mentioned a friend of mine who had been best friends with her boyfriend before they started going out and then So—I mean, Sky seemed pretty cool with the idea."

"Great!" He bit the tip of his tongue to keep himself from hissing empathetically for Kairi's near slip-up. "Now the next step is to slowly let on that you feel something for him."

"B-But how do I do that?"

"Just start small. Do little things that make him happy like…well, what makes him happy?"

"Food."

Demyx laughed heartily at both Kairi's quick answer and the thought of Sora stuffing his face with whatever he laid his eyes on. "Well there you go! Why not cook something for him? I'm sure you can come up with a list of things he'd like to eat, and if he doesn't have any particular favorites, that makes things all the more easier!"

She paused to consider his idea, then… "All right! That's what I'll do next!"

"That's the spirit!" _There_ was the determined Kairi he knew. "Thanks for calling, Thalassa! Call again and let us know how it goes!"

"I will! Thanks Myde!"

He hung up on Kairi and sighed in content. Things seemed to be coming along smoothly for them. That deserved a song.

"Alrighty!" He scanned his computer mp3 list and clicked. "In light of that, let's play something fun and upbeat to cook to! Here's _Somebody to Love_ from Justin Bieber and Usher!"

* * *

The measuring cup slipped from her fingers as she stared wide-eyed at her phone sitting on the counter. "You found_ the one?_"

"He works at Divine Rose," Namine's voice rustled through the speakerphone. "I went to say hi to Luxord and found him."

Excitement bubbled in her chest as she picked up the measuring cup again. "Who is he?" she asked, scooping another cup of sugar into the bowl.

"He's _Roxas_."

Again the cup fell from her hand into the bowl. "From your elementary school?" she ventured hesitantly.

"Yeah."

Her heart dropped. She was still hung up on this Roxas? "Nam—"

"He was the only person I'd ever liked. When I saw him today, even after all these years, I felt my heart skip and I blushed and my knees were wobbly. Doesn't that mean something?"

"What's that _supposed_ to mean?" she wanted to know, staring pointedly at her phone.

"That…" She heard her sigh. "That Roxas is the one."

She bit back a groan of despair. Her cousin had been caught in a textbook scenario _disaster_. "Namine, it's been, like, six or seven years since you last saw him. What if he's changed since then?"

"Doesn't everyone change since elementary school?"

Quickly she opened her mouth to protest…but found there were no words sitting on her tongue, ready to speak against Namine's point.

"Kairi?"

"I…I don't want you getting hurt," she confessed honestly.

Namine only hummed after a long pause.

Kairi frowned. No matter how tempted she felt to do so, telling Namine to steer clear from him would be pointless. What would Myde say? "Don't…Don't get your hopes up about him and don't give in so easily to him just because he was your elementary school crush."

"I know."

"O-Okay…" She sighed, picked up the measuring cup from the pile of ingredients in her mixing bowl, and pulled the bag of brown sugar closer to her. "So, uh…how has Roxas been since elementary school?"

"Good, I guess. He's a communications major at HBU, too."

_Again _she let the measuring cup fall—this time with a clatter on the counter. "_Really?_ What's he look like?"

"Blue eyes, blond spiky hair, about the same height as Sora…"

Her mind conjured an image and she found the description familiar. Well, then. She'd have to find him so they could have a good _talk_.

* * *

He wedged a thick tome into the shelf after cringing at the lame title (_Cheese Problems Solved_ by P. McSweeney). The stack of books he balanced in one arm was steadily growing lighter as he moved down the long shelf. "Remind me why I signed up for this," he muttered darkly, glancing at his fellow prisoner—uh, library assistant.

"For the twelfth time," the young man sighed, filing a book and scanning the next for the decimal code, "you need the money to pay off your student loans."

"Right." He doused his voice with a healthy bucketful of sarcasm. "_Thanks_."

The library assistant turned his head slightly as if to shoot him a glare but his eyes (well, one of them) was hidden behind a curtain of slate, roughly chopped bangs. "If you continue to find this position dull, then I suggest you find another way to pay off your debts."

Looking away from him, he uninterestedly searched the spine of the next book for the decimal. "Where?"

"Perhaps the mall or somewhere in town."

"The mall's too far away and I hate riding the bus anywhere."

"Then buy a car."

"I can't afford a car. I can barely afford _school_."

"Then it appears, Riku, that unless you're willing to put aside whatever vexation you hold about riding the bus, you're stuck here."

He rolled his jade eyes and stuffed the book into its place with a bit of force. "Well, _thanks_ for spelling that out."

Receiving no reply, he sighed and began to walk to the next shelf over. How did Demyx put up with—

Riku froze…and silently retreated back between the shelves, eyes wide and breath caught in his chest. That girl was here again—the one who reminded him of Namine for some weird reason. Maybe it was the eyes; they both had blue eyes. Her short dark hair threw him off the first time he'd seen her in here. He was about to go up to her and ask if she was Namine (and if she'd dyed and chopped her hair on impulse) but he got caught up with putting away books. By the time he finished, she'd left.

Since two weeks ago, he'd seen her every time he was here working. She sat in the same seat with her head bowed and an open book before her. No _way_ was she Namine. The blond girl was known for using much of her time drawing rather than eating or sleeping. Reading wasn't a huge favorite pastime for Namine.

So who was this girl?

"What is it _now?_"

"Nothing," he replied smoothly, splitting his pile randomly between his hands and holding them up for Zexion. "I was deciding whether to put these away before or after I put away these."

Zexion blinked, stared, blinked twice more, then moved away towards another shelf with an upward twitch of his eyebrow that clearly said, _Whatever you say. I'm not buying it._ That was how Riku read it, of course; Zexion's actual thoughts probably contained more elaborate words and an air of regale.

He rolled his eyes again, making his way to the next shelf and shooting a glance at the girl. If she came in tomorrow, he'd talk to her. As for _how_ he'd start talking to her…well, he'd need to see if she came at all. It was his style to take things one step at a time.

* * *

"Tonight's the night."

She smiled as she caught Zack breathing in deeply and sneaking a hand into his right pants pocket. Cloud sat on his usual stool—the one farthest from the bar entrance and closest to the kitchen—and allowed a smirk to pull a corner of his mouth. "You ready?" he mumbled in a voice barely audible over the light rock streaming from the radio.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Zack muttered under his breath, darting his blue eyes between her and Cloud. "Everything's set up and stuff, right?"

"Yup," she chirruped. "Just relax. Me, Cloud, and Imani have your back—that's what family is for."

Cloud's electric blue eyes almost made her shudder as he locked gazes with her for a second. Almost.

"Right?" she prompted with half-false cheer.

If it weren't for the habitual reminder she gave herself whenever she looked at him, she'd give in to her false hopes and fall hard. She didn't have time for that.

"Right," the blond man affirmed with a nod. "Family."

To Cloud, all she'd ever be was a sister. It had taken far too much turmoil, but she learned to accept that.

Her deep wine-colored eyes broke away from him and she checked the clock behind her. "You should get going, Cloud. You know how Cid hates waiting."

Wordlessly he slid off his stool, clapped Zack on the shoulder, and trudged to the kitchen, disappearing without a second glance at either of them. Once the door swung shut, Zack took Cloud's spot and leaned forward. "You don't have to keep convincing yourself," he told her.

"I'm not convincing myself." She smiled softly. "I'm already convinced."

He wasn't. "Teef…"

She could feel the wall around her heart cracking and quickly changed the subject to seal up the fractures. "I heard about the genius Axel Flynn coming in last night. Did Imani get to meet him?"

Immediately his soft, concerned eyes turned steely as they glanced away. "Yeah, they met," he grumbled.

She arched an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"If he ever comes here again while Imani's working, I'm sending her to the kitchen until he leaves." Zack eyed her meaningfully. "You should, too, in case I'm not here. I'll tell Xigbar and Meg that she can go off to listen to her radio show the moment he steps in—"

"Wait, wait," she laughed. "What are you saying?"

"He was _flirting_ with her," he hissed, eyes gleaming dangerously.

Her eyebrows rose and she stifled a sigh. She sensed another mother-father role-playing confrontation over Imani. "So?"

"Teef, he's at least two years older than her."

"_So? _You're two years older than Aerith."

Zack sputtered at the truth in her comeback before forging on, "I don't trust him."

"Oh Zack—"

"You should've _seen_ how he was looking at her! He looked like an animal sizing up his prey!"

"Imani isn't a little girl anymore."

"Yeah, but she's still our cousin. We have to look out for her, especially with Aden out of town. You'll keep an eye on her if that punk ever shows, right?"

She didn't bother holding in her sigh. He was so hyped about this he'd already started calling the guy names. "Don't I always?"

"I'm holding you to that." He pointed a finger at her and glared sternly. "You and Cloud. You two will be in charge of watching over her if I'm not around."

There he went again. It came as easily to him as "salt and pepper" or "sugar and cream" or "peanut butter and jelly." She nodded to confirm that she'd protect Imani but made a point to frown at him for pairing up her and Cloud. She knew he did that on purpose.

He did, too. "Good," he said with a grin.

* * *

**Author's Afterthought: **_Cheese Problems Solved _is an actual book, as stupid as the title sounds. I came across it when I was looking up lame books and this one was at the top of a compiled list. Though I can't remember the authors' names, two other really lame books on the list were _500 Uses for Pantyhose_ and _How to Read a Book. _Seriously.

Laaaaaaame.

Also, please try not to bash songs or musical artists that are included in this story when you leave reviews. I understand that everyone has his or her own personal opinions about certain music, but I'd like for reviews to be left only to analyze the story, not the music. Like the summary said, Demyx will be using a very extensive playlist.

Okay, thanks for reading! Please leave a review! Please!


	4. Interesting, Frustrating, Proposing

**Author's Comments: **I can tell you already that the story is going to be really, _really_ long. And complicated. I had to draw up a relationship chart just to keep track of how everyone knows each other. I've just kept writing and writing for this story because all these ideas keep popping up in my head and lo, I have at least eleven chapters lined up for _The Captive Heart Show._ Good grief!

I hope you'll continue to read, though, even if this ends up being the longest AU I've written! Thank you also for your kind reviews! They make my day! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Kingdom Hearts_. I own Imani.

* * *

For the past five minutes, Imani switched off between sipping her ice coffee and smashing her straw between her teeth. For the past ten minutes, she stared blankly at the tattered corner of his music theory textbook. Being her best friend for the past twelve years, Demyx recognized that a silent, spacey Imani equaled a troubled Imani.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked with his lips around his veggie burger.

Imani blinked owlishly, darting her eyes to his and halting mid-sip to take in his question. "Nothing."

As he was about to narrow his eyes at her suspiciously, he caught sight of a head of bright red spiky hair behind her and did a double-take. Was that…It was! His old dorm mate Axel was sitting with Larxene and her friend.

He wrinkled his nose in thought. How…random. Every student at HBU knew that the redheaded genius rarely ever set foot on the undergraduate campus since the day he received his Bachelor's in medical sciences. How did Axel and Larxene know each other, anyway?

"What?" Imani asked.

"Look," he whispered, nodding his head towards the group.

She turned, looked…and immediately turned back around, ducking her head and hiding her face behind her barely-touched sandwich.

Demyx's eyebrows shot up. What was _this?_ First she said nothing throughout the entire time they'd been sitting here. Next she denied something bothering her when there was _clearly_ _something bothering her_. Now she tried to hide herself behind her turkey cranberry sandwich because she saw what he pointed out to her.

"I think there's something you haven't told me," he stated lowly, narrowing his eyes just as he had intended before seeing Axel.

She lowered her sandwich, twisting her lips into a frown that looked poised to curse at his ability to read her like the sheet music a beginner pianist would play. Just as she was about to open her mouth and respond, she spotted something and relief clouded her eyes. "Hey Kairi."

Demyx stifled a sigh as he turned to smile at the girl. Kairi grinned brightly, plopping down next to Demyx and promptly setting her books and bag to the side. "What's up?"

As Imani gave her a "Not much," he secretly searched…and found it. His smile widened as he pointed to the plastic container sitting atop her pile of books. "What's that?"

"O-Oh, this? I made them last night." She peeled the lid off to reveal a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies. "You wanna try some?"

A glance at Imani told him she was thinking the same thing he was. "Sure," she chirruped as they reached in to pick out a disc of sugary goodness…well, maybe not really _sugary._ Not that the two of them had a problem with this.

"Not too sweet," Imani slowly commented with a nod of approval and a glint in her eyes. "Just the way Sora likes it."

"I-I didn't make them just for him," she blurted.

The blush on her face said otherwise. Demyx nearly snorted at the smirk Imani shot at Kairi that said, _Go on. You keep telling yourself that. I _dare_ you._

Kairi—the poor girl—started to sink into her seat under Imani's gaze. Her shoulders slumped in defeat as she mumbled, "Do you guys listen to Arpeggio 101.3?"

"Sometimes," Demyx replied with Imani, not daring to glance at her out of fear he'd burst out laughing at the irony of it all.

"D-Do…Do you listen to the…" she lowered her voice to a whisper as her cheeks reddened even further, "The Captive Heart Show?"

He watched Imani out of his peripheral as she pretended to think, biting her lip and humming. "That's the one that guy Myde hosts, right?"

"Yeah. I've, um…I've started calling in and consulting him for advice on how to share my feelings with Sora."

"Oh? And I'm guessing Myde suggested you make something for Sora."

She nodded, slowly uncurling herself from the ball of embarrassment she'd subconsciously turned herself into. "His advice rarely backfires, and even when it does, he's always there to talk some sense into you. It's so great of him. He's awesome."

"He is, isn't he?" Demyx grinned…and tightened his jaw as Imani's foot pressed down on his under the table. Just when he was about to kick away her foot with his free one, he spotted two boys—a brunet freshman with spikes and a silver-haired sophomore—approach their table. "Speak of the devil."

Imani lifted her foot. Sora smiled widely and took a seat across from Kairi while Riku sat down on Imani's other side. "Guess what, guys?" The spiky brunet looked ready to explode from excitement. "I passed my exam!"

"Barely."

"Shut _up_, Riku."

"Congrats," Demyx told the brunet, pushing the container of cookies across the table to him with his finger. "How about celebrating with some of Kairi's famous homemade chocolate chip cookies?"

Sora's jaw dropped and his eyes widened in delight. "You made these, Kairi?"

Kairi smiled, banishing her stutter and her blush well. "Yeah."

"Wow…" In awe he took a cookie and stared at it, laying it down on his palm as if it were a rare coin. "I didn't know you baked."

Demyx pulled his lips into a thoughtful fake frown. "Huh. Maybe they're not that famous…Oh well. That's probably for the best. If anyone else knew about Kairi's secret cooking talent, she'd surely be overwhelmed by the number of people pleading for her to cook for them." He then added nonchalantly with a hint of drama laced in his smooth voice, "Especially the guys."

Though his eyes were still trained on the cookie, Sora straightened in his seat.

Demyx popped the last bite of his veggie burger into his mouth and rose from his seat. His job here was done. "I gotta go. I'll see you guys later." He waved to the four of them and headed off.

Oh, but first…

Spinning on the balls of his feet, he walked to the table where Axel sat with Larxene (who barely left an inch of space between them despite the six or seven inches of free space on her other side) and her friend (a pink-haired senior named…gah, what was his name? Larxene _told _him what it was…M…Martin? Mar…k? Oh well. It didn't matter), tapping the redhead's bony shoulder. "Axel."

When he turned around, his green eyes widened and he grinned. "Demyx!"

"What'cha been up to? I haven't seen you in ages."

"I know, right? We've got tons of stuff to catch up on." Axel's grin faltered as he eyed their small table. "Uh…Someone wanna scoot over so he can sit down?"

"Oh, I'm actually off to my next class…" he trailed off, watching Mar-something bite into his lunch. "Hey, veggie burger! I had that, too."

"You were eating here?" Larxene asked, leaning towards him (and Axel) slightly. "Where were you sitting?"

"Over there." He spun around again and pointed with a straight arm to the table just as his best friend pulled out her leg from the space between the bench and the table. She gathered her books into her arms with a smile on her face.

"Hey, that's Imani."

Demyx blinked. He'd expected Larxene to point that out, not Axel. "You know her?" he asked, whirling back around.

"Our professor introduced us yesterday." His thin eyebrows inched together. "How do _you_ know her?"

"She's been my best friend since we were kids."

"Huh. Interesting."

Demyx had to agree. The way Larxene scooted even _closer_ to Axel and the way Axel intently watched Imani stride across the courtyard were indeed _interesting._ Now that he thought about it, the way Imani tried to make herself invisible after seeing Axel and Larxene (and Mar-what's-his-face, too, maybe) was suspicious as well. He vaguely wondered if he'd get calls from any of these people during his show…

He smiled to himself. Yep. That'd be _really_ interesting.

Pushing aside his thoughts, he said to Axel while clapping his shoulder, "Well, anyway, I gotta go so…I guess I'll see you later?"

Axel tore his eyes away and grinned at Demyx again. "Yeah. We should meet up sometime."

"Gimme a call whenever you're free, then." With that he saluted and jogged off, his smile indefinitely stuck on his face. He was _so_ going to get to the bottom of this, one way or another.

* * *

He should've asked for her number before she left.

Like a mantra Roxas repeated the words over and over in his head while staring blankly at his homework. _Man_. Why didn't he think of that when she was there?

A little, irritating voice in his head told him it was because he was too busy taking in as much of the girl as he could.

He growled under his breath, stabbing the folder paper with his pencil before leaning back in his chair and raking his hands through his spikes. Before yesterday he hadn't given Namine Snow a single thought and now she was all he could think about. He couldn't remember the last time a girl had bewitched him like this.

Bewitched. Yeah. That Namine was a witch of some sorts…a really pretty witch.

His hand slipped underneath one cover of the textbook and lifted, letting the book slam shut with his homework and the pencil smashed between the pages. After only finishing three problems in the last hour, he figured he wouldn't get any work done tonight. Not with Namine haunting his mind.

He really wanted to see her.

Roxas bowed his head and shut his eyes, tapping his fingers against his scalp. Asking Luxord for her number would be out of line…but what about her other cousin? She was supposed to the same major as him. Maybe he could catch her tomorrow. As far as homework was concerned, the sooner he could see Namine again the better. If he saw her and talked to her for a little bit, he figured he'd be able to stave off this weird pang in his chest and all these thoughts of the blond girl in his head long enough to finish some work.

Deciding to search out Namine's cousin—Kairi Panettiere, she'd said—tomorrow, he flopped onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling, waiting for the next day to come.

* * *

"Can I open them now?"

"Not yet."

Her smiled betrayed her sigh of exasperation as she held Zack's warm hand and let him lead her somewhere. Blades of grass licked her ankles as she walked on the loamy ground. She was glad she left her cell phone at the apartment; no calls from the medical center interrupted the dinner she and Zack enjoyed at Lionheart before he brought her back to the car and told her to close her eyes.

"How soon, Zack?"

"Really really soon." He squeezed her hand. "But not yet."

She had to wonder what he was up to. A familiar floral scent tickled her nose but she couldn't determine what plant it was. The cool air caressed her face. Just where was he leading her?

Suddenly he stopped walking and she bumped into his arm. "Okay," he finally said, squeezing her hand again in an apology for the abrupt halt. "You can open them now."

The moment she did, her breath caught in her throat. All around her were fields of tulips stretching as far as her eyes could see. Tulips, tulips, tulips. The setting sun illuminated the flowers and the early-evening stars twinkled merrily at her. "Zack, it's beautiful," she murmured, turning to him.

He didn't smile. He only looked at her, and whether it was because of the lighting or not, she thought she saw something akin to fear hiding deep in those blue depths...but not once did those eyes waver from hers as he got down on one knee, withdrew a tiny box, opened it, and whispered, "Aerith Gainsborough, will you marry me?"

* * *

Hastily she wiped the table with a wet cloth, making the surface wobble with the amount of force she used. She could hardly keep her eyes off Tifa for more than five seconds. Tifa had the phone. Tifa would be the first (or second, if Cloud was called first) person to hear the news…but so far, all Tifa did was pour drinks and wipe glasses.

She pushed in a chair and glanced at the clock behind Tifa. She was beginning to hope that Zack called Cloud first. What else could be taking him so long to call? Could Aerith have…

She shook her head firmly and moved on to the next empty table. No way was Aerith going to say no. The woman had been talking about marriage for the past month and she loved Zack dearly. There wasn't a chance she'd—

Her heart stopped. Tifa had the phone to her ear…Why was she frowning? Oh no. Aerith couldn't have…No, this couldn't happen to Zack. Not to _Zack_. No…no no no no no no—

Tifa's face broke out into a huge grin, darting wine-colored eyes to meet her coffee-colored ones and nodding excitedly.

Her lungs took a brisk breath. Her jaw dropped and she _smiled._ Before she could contain it, squeals and giggles burst from her lips. She dropped her cloth without a second thought and buried her hands in her hair as her feet took her all over the dining area. She said yes! She said yes! Aerith said yes! Yes yes yes yes ye—

Her shoulder bumped into something. With her smile still tugging at her lips she glanced up and prepared to apologize…when she saw green. And red. And tattoos.

A thin eyebrow arched slowly. "Did I miss something?"

Those eyes burned her. She averted her gaze to the ground and searched her brain for words to say. All she could conjure were squeaks and croaks at the back of her throat as she pathetically stepped back, itching to get away from him somehow.

"Hey, is something wrong?"

She shook her head and whispered a "sorry," dashing off to retrieve her wet towel because it wouldn't be wet anymore if she left it out on the table like that and then she'd need to go back to the kitchen to wet it again and oh _what do you know_ it needs to be wet again oh well she supposed she just _had_ to go to the kitchen—

"Imani?"

She ignored Tifa, racing for her stack of crates in the corner and doing her best to melt into the wall. Breathing in and out deeply would calm her hammering heart. Yeah. She was just startled that he appeared so suddenly, that was all. That was all.

With a loud thud she knocked her head against the wall behind her. Like _hell_ was that all.

* * *

**Author's Afterthought: **We-e-e-e-ell?

To **Random KH Fan Girl**: I'm so glad you're back! I love all your reviews! I'm only sad that I can only reply to you through these updates! Also, I meant to say that Luxord and Namine (and Kairi) were cousins. Sorry to confuse you! Hope to keep hearing plenty from you!

**QUESTION: **With school starting up pretty soon, I'm afraid that I won't be able to update my stories as often as I'd like. Would you prefer I update this story every few days instead of every week? Please let me know in a review! Thank you for reading!


	5. Folding Cranes and Earning Points

**Author's Comments: **I'm afraid that I won't be able to post everything in a timely manner, so I've decided to post chapters every two to three days. I hope to hear more reviews from you and hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Kingdom Hearts _or the book _To Kill a Mockingbird_ by Harper Lee_._ I own Imani.

* * *

On his way to the back room to put away his things and check in, Riku jerked his head upward briskly in greeting Zexion who sat at the front desk. A few students sat scattered throughout the library either reading or typing or writing. Was she…?

There she was, sitting in that same spot with her nose in a book.

He furrowed his brow as he threw his backpack and textbooks onto the shelf next to Zexion's messenger bag. Now he had to figure out how to talk to her. Maybe he could pretend he thought she was Namine and then strike up conversation from there.

Eh. Too awkward. He'd scope her out while filing books and come up with ideas as he worked.

Grabbing as many books as he could carry, Riku headed out into the library while scanning the decimal codes. He made sure they needed to be put away on the first floor; the girl might leave while he was on the second or third floors and he'd have to wait two days until he had work again to see her and try talking to her.

He neared the girl and stuffed books into the shelf behind her. He stood close enough to hear her turn the page of her book but he couldn't come up with something to say to her. A groan sat perched on his vocal chords, waiting to erupt. Where was sociable, whip-up-a-conversation-from-thin-air Sora when he needed him?

"Excuse me."

His silver bangs flew into his face as he turned to the whispering…of the girl. "Uh, yes?" he stammered.

The girl pointed to something she was looking at across the building and asked, "Who's that?"

Jade eyes followed her finger and widened when he saw the lanky redhead that was Axel Flynn sitting at a table, writing down notes from a book he was reading.

The wrinkles between his eyebrows deepened. How could she _not_ know who that was? Axel Flynn had been in the news at least twice and helped conduct student physical examinations every year. His attitude and his hair were only two of his most recognizable traits. Every student at Hollow Bastion University had to have seen him at least once before.

Unless…

Riku's eyes widened as he looked over the girl. "You're…not an HBU student," he breathed.

She flinched, tearing her gaze from Axel Flynn and darting her Namine-blue eyes to him. "Y-Yes I am."

"Let me see your student ID, then," he insisted, quietly putting down his pile of books and holding out his hand for her.

"I...forgot it at home. In my dorm."

He didn't buy it. He withdrew his hand and folded his arms across his chest, peering down at her suspiciously. "How many digits does a student's ID number have?"

"S…Six?"

"Are you asking me?"

Her nervous glances sharpened into slight glares at his sarcasm. With more certainty—or stubbornness—she repeated, "Six."

Aha. "Wrong. Eight."

She widened her eyes and stuttered, "H-How am I supposed to know that? I'm new this year."

"You need your student ID number to log into your school account, pay for tuition, and register for classes. You obviously don't have your ID number memorized because you don't have an ID number because you're _not an HBU student._"

The girl gaped, completely at a loss for words until she huffed and threw the hand she pointed at Axel Flynn with up in defeat. "Fine. I don't go here."

"You do realize the penalty of loitering, do you?"

She didn't answer, lowering her frustrated glare to the table and clenching the book in her hands slightly. She obviously did, yet she still came—snuck over—here all the time. Out of honest curiosity, he asked her why.

"This library has the best selection of books," she answered after a pause.

"But you're here _every day._ Don't you have friends to hang out with or something?"

She flinched again. "I'd rather read."

He arched an eyebrow beneath his bangs. Maybe she didn't have any friends to hang out with.

Well. He could change that…if she'd let him.

"I'm Riku." When her eyes met his and gave him a strange look, he pointed to the redhead across the room and went on, "That's Axel Flynn. He's practically our school mascot."

Her nose wrinkled. "How come?"

"He graduated with his Bachelor's in two years. Now he's studying to be a neurologist and interns at HBMC."

Her jaw dropped and she whipped her head back to stare at Axel Flynn. "_He's_ going to be a neurologist?"

He smirked, unfolding his arms and taking a seat next to her. "He doesn't look it, but he's really smart. He'll mess with your head if you let him." He didn't bother elaborating but in his mind he added, _Both figuratively and literally_. "I'm guessing the red hair caught your attention."

"I was just glancing up to give my eyes a break and then I saw _that_," she said with nod, not noticing he sat down and keeping her attention on the redhead.

Riku held back a laugh and glanced at the book she had in her hands—_To Kill a Mockingbird_ by Harper Lee. Pretty good choice. "So what grade are you?"

She tore her eyes away, reeled back slightly at seeing him sitting down, and answered, "I'm a senior. You?"

"Sophomore here."

She nodded slowly, closing the book while keeping her finger between the pages and lowering her gaze once more. "I come here because I don't have friends," she confessed. "I just moved from Twilight Town so I don't know anyone."

"I kind of figured."

"So…" she glanced up at him sheepishly, "are you going to turn me in?"

He arched an eyebrow again. "And ban you from seeing your first friend here? I'm not _that_ heartless."

"My first friend here?" she asked, furrowing her brow. "Who?"

He rose from his seat and scooped the almost-forgotten books into his arms. "I don't work tomorrow or the day after so if you're caught, you might not be so lucky." With a final smirk he left the table.

"I'm Xion."

Riku turned to the girl who hissed her name to him. "Xion," he repeated before walking off and letting the name roll around on his tongue.

* * *

Fenrir's low rumble cut off and he swung his leg over the bike to kick up the stand. As Cloud trudged to the bar's back door, he rolled his head around to stretch out the kinks in his neck, popping them soundly.

The door creaked when he opened it and soft music crept into his ears. He kept his eyes trained on his boots as he scuffed off the dirt and mud before stepping on the floor. When he lifted his eyes, he completely halted for a moment—his legs, his lungs, and his heart.

Tifa sat at the table with a few pads of shiny silver paper squares and a pile of…paper cranes. A partially-folded paper square was pinched between her fingers. "Welcome back, Cloud," she said with a smile. A few stray hairs, too short to be held back into a ponytail like the rest of her tresses, framed her face.

He blinked away his daze and furrowed his brow slightly. They only got engaged yesterday.

She shrugged one shoulder before turning her attention back to the paper in her hand. "Gotta start early."

They decided on a date already?

"They're thinking of doing it on Zack's parents' wedding anniversary in a few months. It'll be just something small with family and close friends."

Would a few months be enough time to fold a thousand cranes…or do anything else, for that matter?

"Everyone will need to help. Do you know how to make these?"

Did he _look_ like the kind of person who knew how?

She rolled her eyes and reached around the table to drag a chair closer to her, carelessly tossing her completed paper crane with the small pile. "Come sit. I'll teach you."

He eyed the chair, the paper pads, and the cranes warily. He didn't have an excuse not to learn; he didn't have any more deliveries lined up for the day and he wasn't exactly tired, but…

"Come on, Cloud."

Those three softly-spoken words tweaked something in his chest. He heard the little girl who beckoned him to play with her when they were kids. He could never refuse when she called for him.

Some things never changed.

Reluctantly he sat down, being mindful to keep a good four inches from touching her in any way. He watched her slim fingers peel paper squares from the pad—one for him and one for her.

"You might want to take your gloves off," she said. "It'll be easier if you don't have anything on your hands."

He began pinching each fingertip on his left hand and tugging the glove off then worked on getting his right-hand glove off, throwing the articles to the side near the pile of cranes. Tifa slid a paper square to him...and he winced slightly at the crinkles his fingers made when he took it from her.

"Fold it in half like this." She brought the opposite corners together and pressed a crease down the middle so that the square became a triangle.

He mimicked her, smoothing out the paper under his hands.

"Then you fold it in half again."

He did so. Huh. This was easy enough…so far.

"Okay, now slip your thumb in here—" she slid hers into the bottom opening of the triangle, "—and fold it like this." The triangle became a square again…only smaller than the original square and with a triangle pointing out from the side.

Cloud frowned. How did she do that?

"Here. Like this." She scooted her chair closer to his, sealing up two of the four safe inches to take his triangle from him. Tiny jolts shot through his fingers and hands where her fingertips touched his skin. "You fold here…like that. Try doing the other side."

Slowly he created his first paper crane under Tifa's patient instruction. What irked him slightly was that he couldn't control his fingers; he'd pinch the paper too tightly and made it wrinkle but whenever he tried to lighten his grip on it, the paper slipped from his grasp to the table.

It wasn't too bad, though, since Tifa's hand brushed his whenever she moved to correct him or paused in her crane-making to pick up his paper for him.

"Now bring the wings out like this…and there you go."

Cloud frowned, glaring at the bird in his hand…if one could call it that. His crumpled crooked crane looked like utter _crap._

Tifa's giggle silenced all mental insults he was going to continue throwing at his disaster. "It's your first one. You'll get better at it if you keep doing it."

He chucked the mangled crane into the pile and accepted the new square she offered him.

* * *

"Excuse me."

She stopped walking and turned to the voice. A boy with blond spikes and blue eyes approached her, one hand on his backpack strap and the other carrying a book or two. "Are you Kairi Panettiere?" he asked.

Her eyes widened. This was him, wasn't it? "Roxas McCartney?" she tried.

"Yeah." Roxas nodded. "I met your cousin and she told me you were majoring in communications, too."

"Yeah, she said she met you at Luxord's salon. You work there?"

"I started there a month ago."

She nodded as she made notes in her head. Polite. Boyish good looks. Had a job with _Luxord's_ salon. Not bad so far, but how to test him…?

Ah, that was it. She'd observe him interacting with Namine. "I was about to join Nam and our friends for lunch. You wanna come?"

He shrugged nonchalantly but she spotted the glimmer of excitement in his eyes. "Sure."

They began to walk across the campus and Kairi began devising conversation topics that would reveal Roxas McCartney. She had to determine whether he felt the same way about Namine that she did about him. Maybe she'd ask him about his high school or what he thought of his job at the salon or what his plans for the future were...

Eh, maybe not that last topic. She'd sound like she was Namine's mom.

Her heart leapt when she spotted a head of brown spikes and the hand connected to its body waving at her. "Hey Sora," she called, walking up to him and giving him a one-armed hug. "This is Roxas. He's an old friend of Nam's."

Sora grinned—Kairi felt a little part of her _melt_ upon seeing it—and offered his hand. "Hey."

"Are you Namine's friend, too?" Roxas asked as he shook it.

"Yeah. We went to the same high school."

"Oh cool."

"Roxas is joining us for lunch," Kairi told Sora. "We'd better go find a good table."

The three of them set off again to the cluster of umbrella-covered tables Kairi and Sora's group of friends usually hung out at for lunch. "So you've known Nam since elementary school?" Kairi asked Roxas.

"Yeah. We were paired up for art classes all the time. Back then, she was _really_ good."

Appreciation of Nam's work. One point for Roxas. "She's gotten a lot better."

"I'm sure she has. I'd love to see what she's done."

Willingness to continue appreciation. Another point.

Kairi was about to comment on Nam's ability when Sora interjected, "I really liked those cookies you made. Do you think you'll cook more?"

He liked them? No, he _really_ liked them! _And_ he wanted her to continue cooking!

"Well, I'm gonna need someone to test my food." She gave him a sidelong glance, quirking one eyebrow and grinning. "You wanna be my guinea pig?"

His pearly whites shone. "I'll be anything you want me to be," he told her.

She nearly turned to goo at those words. Oh, if he knew the things he did to her…

"Are you two going out?"

Kairi's already quick-beating heart stopped at Roxas' question. She turned to the boy on her right and shook her head. "We're just friends."

An arm slithered across her shoulders and drew her closer to Sora. "_Best_ friends," she heard him correct.

She could feel heat rushing to her face under Roxas' widening eyes. "I see," the blond said with a knowing smirk her way. "Thanks for clearing that up."

Recognition of Kairi's feelings and the sense to keep quiet about them in front of the object of her affection. Ten points to Roxas.

But he hadn't passed her test yet.

* * *

After pocketing his car keys, Axel pushed open the door to Seventh Heaven and sighed. His brain and his eyes ached from the six hours he spent working on that report he had to turn in tomorrow. Being Professor Gainsborough's top student and the most promising intern at HBMC didn't exclude him from his studies, but he didn't mind too much.

The bar was fairly packed with almost every table occupied by people relaxing from a long day at work. Chatter and light rock music filled the air as it was blown around by the rotating fans on the ceiling. He dragged his feet to the counter and saw his professor's _fiancé_ manning the drinks.

Zack caught sight of him and grinned. "Hey, it's you."

He returned the grin. "Congrats on your engagement."

"Thanks. Aerith told you?"

"No, Tifa did when I came in last night."

His eyebrows shot up past his bangs. "You were here?"

"Yeah. I felt like having a drink." As he slid onto an empty stool, he let his eyes roam around the room. A woman with dark hair tied up in a ponytail sauntered between tables…but the shorthaired girl he was hoping he'd see didn't. "Is Imani working tonight?"

"No."

He blinked as he turned back to the counter. That was awfully blunt. "Oh."

Zack smirked at him, wiping his hands with a towel. "What'll it be?"

"Scotch on the rocks." Axel thought he saw a triumphant light in the bartender's blue eyes but he didn't comment.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tifa join Zack behind the counter. She smiled at him. "Hey Axel. You're back."

"Yeah. I was gonna say hi to Imani but I heard she's not working tonight."

"She usually has Thursdays and Saturdays off."

He logged down that information and stored it away in his brain with a nod. "Good to know."

He watched as Zack hissed something to Tifa (it sounded like "Why did you _tell_ him that?") and shot a glare at her. Tifa hissed something back ("He would've figured it out eventually."), her smile tightening the slightest. Hmm….

As Zack placed his scotch down before him, he leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. "Can I ask you something?"

Axel blinked again, taking the glass and bringing it to his parched lips. "Fire away."

"Do you have a thing for our cousin?"

"Your…cousin?"

"Imani."

He set his glass down and the alcohol burned as it traveled down his throat. "She's your cousin?"

"Yup," Tifa chimed in, pointing at herself and Zack. "My mom, his mom, and Imani's mom are all sisters. We're practically siblings ourselves."

Now that he thought about it, the resemblance among the three was definitely there—the dark hair, the fairly pale complexions, the maturity, the smiles...though Imani had the nicest smile, in his opinion. But he digressed.

"Why do you ask?" He arched an eyebrow as Zack backed away and crossed his arms.

Tifa shrugged and elbowed Zack for something he muttered under his breath (Axel couldn't catch it this time). "Just wondering."

Axel noticed Zack's sour face and it clicked. He was on the receiving end of a protective-brother-looking-out-for-his-little-sister interrogation. That explained the triumphant smirk he got when Zack told him Imani wasn't in today.

Well. Honesty earned points…in the end.

"I think I'm falling in love with her."

"You're _what?_" Zack sputtered as Tifa reeled back. "You just met her the other day!"

He couldn't help smirking at the response. "True, but I first saw her before the school year started when I was helping with the physical examinations." He saw Zack's eyes blaze dangerously and quickly reassured him, "I didn't examine her personally."

He certainly wished he had, but they didn't need to know that.

"What about Larxene, then?" Zack demanded. "You two were hitting it off really well that night and you didn't notice that Imani had left in the middle of your conversation."

"I don't see Larxene as anything more than a friend. And I _did_ notice."

"Larxene's interested in you."

"I know, but I'm not interested in her."

"You two have so much in common, though. You're the same age, you both seem outgoing—"

"I can't control how I feel."

Zack was silenced, clamping his mouth shut with a frown and sighing through his nose.

Axel downed the rest of his scotch and shrugged at him. It was the truth. Before seeing Imani for the first time he'd only found interest in girls like Larxene—playful, cunning, and slightly seductive. That quiet, reserved girl he'd caught glimpses of before and after she'd entered the women's examination room was anything but…yet he couldn't erase her image from his mind.

A smirk tugged at his lips. No neurological theory could explain his obsession turned emotion for the girl. He found it hilariously ironic.

"You really like Imani?"

He darted his eyes to Tifa. The woman's brow furrowed as she searched him for confirmation. He felt Zack's suspecting eyes fall on him, doing their best to pry into his mind and find a hint of insincerity.

Axel stared back at them squarely. He was falling in love and there was nothing they could do to ignore it.

The cousins exchanged a glance—one encouraging, the other wary—before the acting bartender sighed once more. "If you hurt her in any way at all," Zack finally growled, "we'll cut off all your fingers and toes, slice open your head, remove that stellar brain of yours, and leave you to bleed to death in a dark wet alley somewhere."

Tifa rolled her eyes. "Zack…"

Axel barked out a laugh, throwing his head back and pushing the empty glass across the counter for a refill. "Committed to memory."

* * *

**Author's Afterthought:** Please leave a review! Thank you for reading!


	6. NerveWracking Uncertainty

**Author's Comments: **Hello. How's your week going? Hope this chapter can brighten your day a little!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Kingdom Hearts. _I own Imani.

* * *

Demyx didn't care for email. Rarely did he read a message that spurred his heart the same way a written letter or a song would. They were always filled with emoticons (those tools of cheating from the dark depths of laziness) and lacked personality.

But alas, refusing to read the emails from listeners of The Captive Heart Show was like abandoning the men and women (mostly women) with bruise-blotched knees from falling down in despair with their heavy hearts.

He clicked on the newest email a listener had sent him. "Okay, so I just got an email from username WhiteWave," he started. "It says 'Dear Myde, the other day I discovered that an old crush of mine from when I was in elementary school was going to the same school as me. He's sweet and cute just like he was in elementary school and he gets along well with my friends. I think I might still feel something for him. My cousin is suspicious of him, though, since it's been so long since I last saw him. She suspects that my old crush might have changed from the boy I fell for. What do I do?'"

His nose wrinkled. This sounded awfully familiar…like Namine and her friend that joined their group for lunch earlier that day…

Gah, but he couldn't be sure! Emails were too anonymous for him to distinguish identities! If he couldn't hear voices, he couldn't attach faces and names and personal experiences! It made his job harder.

The listeners—and WhiteWave—were waiting, though, so he whistled low and began, "Well WhiteWave, I think your cousin is being reasonable. I don't know how long ago elementary school was for you, but it sounds like it was at least several years. People can change over time. If you're not careful with this boy, you might be setting yourself up for a huge disappointment. Scope him out for a little bit and search for any differences between the boy you fell for and the boy that's in front of you today. Be careful not to mix up the two or you could get hurt. I hope that advice helps. Keep us updated!"

There. That should've been good, even if WhiteWave wasn't Namine.

"Okay! Let's hear from a caller before we play a song, shall we?" he said, pressing the flashing button for line four. "Hi, this is The Captive Heart Show—Myde the Prince of Awesome speaking. Who's this?"

"Onix."

"Onix?" he repeated uncertainly, leaning back in his chair while keeping the mic near his lips. What kind of a name was "Onix," especially if the caller sounded _female?_

"Yeah," Onix affirmed.

"Okay, Onix, who's on your heart tonight?"

"There's this guy I saw today when I was at the library. I can't stop thinking about him."

"Do you know his name?"

"A-Axel."

Demyx nearly fell off his chair. Axel? As in Axel Flynn? Were there any other Axels in Hollow Bastion? Here he was, talking about Axel…but not with a voice belonging to any of the people he predicted he'd hear tonight.

"I don't know what to do," Onix went on. "Any suggestions?"

Snapping himself from his confusion, he asked, "You just saw him, right? You didn't actually go up to him to talk?"

"N-No."

"He doesn't know who you are?"

"No."

What to say? He really wanted to hear about Imani's possible history with Axel before giving advice, but…maybe "Axel" was a codename?

He nearly groaned. Twice in a row tonight he found himself fumbling for good advice.

"You know, Onix, the best relationships start through friendships," he finally said, figuring the safest route this time around would be to encourage Onix to take things slow…at least until he could get one step ahead of the game again. "If you ever see this Axel again, why not go up to him and say hi? Invest time and effort into developing some sort of bond with him first. If you skip over steps, things could get messy."

"O-Okay."

"Keep us posted on your progress, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks."

"No problemo." With that he cut the connection with line four, quickly announced a new song, shut off his mic, and sighed deeply. Other than the sticky unease sitting in the pit of his stomach and the increasing urge to call up Imani and demand answers to his questions, he figured he got out of that strange break between songs fairly unshaken.

* * *

Aerith's eyes traveled down her long, long to-do list for the wedding. Maybe she should talk to Zack about pushing the wedding back a month or two further; there was so much to do—checking out wedding and reception venues, picking out dresses and tuxedos, arranging a list of guests and sending out invitations, deciding who's in the wedding party…

She sighed. Sure, her mother and his mother would be helping, but it was still a lot to try and get done within the next few months. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to call all these numbers and make appointments. Her responsibilities at HBU and HBMC were already hard to balance.

A knock on her office door broke her away from her thoughts. When she beckoned the knocker to come in, Dr. Flynn entered and shut the door quietly behind him. "I did some research and I found some reports that might help with the Ansem case," he said, holding out a manila folder for her.

"Thank you." She took the folder from him and set it aside somewhere. "I'll take a look at them later."

A low whistle came from the redhead and she looked up to see him gape at her cluttered desk with raised eyebrows. "I'm guessing this is all for the wedding…"

"You guess correctly."

He hummed thoughtfully. "Why not ask to have some of your hours passed on to Dr. Bowen?"

Aerith blinked. Pass some hours to Fuu? That was a good idea. Her colleague was more than capable of handling things for a few months.

"Also, if you need a florist, a friend of mine has a good family-run business. I can give you the number."

She smiled warmly at him, handing him the notepad that had all her numbers on it. "Thank you, Axel."

Dr. Flynn picked out a pen from his coat pocket and jotted something down quickly. "If there's anything else, let me know."

"Trying to earn points from Zack?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Of _course_ not." He gave her back the notepad with a wink. "The points are a bonus."

She chuckled as he strode out of her office. It was only a matter of time before Zack let his protectiveness take the back seat for Axel. Soon he'd see what a great guy for Imani he was.

Exhaling sharply, she picked up the phone and dialed the first number on her list. For now, she couldn't worry about Zack's dislike towards her student. She had a _lot_ of calls to make.

* * *

He sighed long and loud. His head rested in his hands with the heels of his palms against his temples and his elbows propped up on the table. "Riku, what do I do?"

Riku looked up from his laptop with a quirked eyebrow. "About what?"

"About Roxas."

"What about Roxas?"

Sora breathed in deeply before blurting, "I think Kairi likes him."

Riku blinked, his eyebrows flicking up in mild surprise. "You do?"

"She kept watching him intently yesterday."

"She did, did she?"

"Didn't you see that?"

"I'm not the one staring at her every moment she's around."

Sora groaned, letting his head slip from his hands and planting his face on the table with a sound thud. Who cared if it was dirty? Who cared if he lost a gazillion brain cells from that kinda-painful thud? He didn't.

"Roxas isn't interested in Kairi, anyway. His eyes were glued to Nam half the time."

He found little solace in that. Even if Roxas wasn't interested in Kairi, that didn't mean Kairi wasn't interested in Roxas. Nam's childhood friend was a lot of things Sora wasn't: witty, good-looking, mature…

"What do you think about him?" Sora asked Riku suddenly, sitting up so quickly he felt his back crack.

"Roxas?" One shoulder lifted in a shrug. "He's cool, I guess."

He narrowed his eyes slightly, lowering his hands and peering at Riku closely. What about…?

Riku noticed his look and shook his head. "Sora, really. I'm over Namine. I've been over her for the past year."

He had to wonder about that. Could a person really ever get over someone they loved for so long? He didn't have any personal experience with that sort of situation, but…

With a resigned sigh Riku slapped down the screen of his laptop and leaned towards Sora. "Look, to be honest…there's someone else now."

"Really?" He shot up in his seat. "Who?"

"You'd better not tell anyone," he warned lowly.

Sora scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Really, Riku? You're telling _me_ that?"

His lips fell into a frown but he muttered, "There's this girl who's always in the library…but she's actually not a student here. She's a senior in high school."

"She's a _trespasser?_"

Riku clapped his hand to Sora's mouth as he winced. "Shut _up_, Sora."

The hand muffled his nervous giggling and quick apology. He hadn't meant to say it _that _loudly. When Riku took his hand away, Sora cupped both hands around his mouth—he couldn't be sure if the three other students sitting nearby could read lips—and whispered, "You like her?"

"Maybe." He shrugged. "Not sure yet."

"You've got a good chance. What girl can resist you?"

"Nam did."

His heart plummeted upon hearing him say that, but he felt at ease. Riku didn't sound bitter at all—just…honest. He supposed his friend really _was_ over Namine.

Still.

Sora sighed again, cradling his head in one hand. "Man. You and Roxas are both…"

"We're both what?" He arched an eyebrow beneath those silver bangs that were always in his face. One of these days Sora was going to shove a pack of bobby pins at Riku.

Then again, Riku's hair was one of the things that drew girls to him every day. Roxas probably had his own flock of girls who worshipped the ground he walked on. What about Sora? Oh no, he was just everyone's friend. He was too plain and unattractive and _blah_ to be considered anything near the terms "hot" or "sexy" or "irresistible" by any girl—

"We're both _what,_ Sora?"

He bent his head to let his hand rake through his unruly spikes and frowned. "What could Kairi possibly like about me?"

"Oh don't start that with me," he groaned, rolling those eyes that many a girl had confessed were mesmerizing. "You're too hard on yourself."

"What could Kairi like about me, then?" he demanded, pointing a finger to his utterly _plain, unattractive, blah_ face and staring at him with his un-mesmerizing eyes.

Riku huffed. "I don't know. Ask her yourself."

"But—"

The hand returned to his mouth along with a stern glare from Riku. "Ah. Don't."

He crossed his arms and sank into his seat. Ask Kairi? Was he kidding? That'd be so _weird._

"What would be weird is if you two started kissing regularly but stayed best friends."

Heat rushed to his face. He tried leaning back out of Riku's reach but his arm was still too long.

Riku smirked. "Not that you'd entirely oppose that."

Sora glared. Was there a _point_ to bringing up a ridiculous thing like kissing Kairi but remaining best friends?

"You two are best friends. You tell each other everything—why should this be any different?"

He couldn't explain why. It just _was_.

Still, he sighed in defeat and Riku finally released his mouth. "Fine. I'll ask her."

Riku ruffled his spikes. "Good."

* * *

As she sharpened the crease with her fingernail, she heard quiet footsteps come to a halt next to her seat. "For who's wedding are you making these cranes?" Zexion's voice murmured.

"My cousin's."

"When is the wedding?"

"In three months."

His silence spoke volumes of his disbelief. She could practically hear him mutter words like "impossible" and "foolish" and "much too soon."

She glanced up at him before slipping the un-puffed crane into her plastic bag with the rest. "Zack wants to get married on his parents' wedding anniversary—November eleventh," she explained with a grin. "It'll be their thirtieth."

Zexion nodded slowly, the sharp incredulity in his visible eye softening out. "Please send my congratulations to both happy couples."

"Will do." She took another paper square from her stack and began folding it in half on the wooden library table, carefully avoiding the stray pencil and pen markings. The crinkles of the paper erupted loudly in the silent room.

"Also, Demyx wanted to speak with you."

She folded it in half again. "About what?"

"He wouldn't tell me, but from the ramblings he engages himself in when he thinks I'm not listening, I suspect he is concerned about your relationship with Axel Flynn."

It wasn't huge, but she cursed under her breath at the rip she accidentally made in the paper. "I'll talk to him," she muttered.

Zexion walked off without another word but she felt his smirk burn into her back.

She grimaced, doing her best to smooth out the rip before continuing her work. Someone had something against her. How was she supposed to know Axel Flynn was _that_ good-looking in person? She felt like curling up in a ball of despair when Zack told her to keep her guard up against him. She knew it was already too late…

No way. It was him. _Axel Flynn_ was here. _Here._

She looked away quickly. Her fingers wouldn't stop trembling and she couldn't get the creases to fold correctly. What was he doing here? She thought he never came to the undergrad campus—

Who…Who was she? When did she get there? Oh gosh, she was really pretty—like Kairi-pretty or Namine-pretty. And she was talking to him. And he was talking back to her. The girl smiled and pressed her book to her chest like a lovesick schoolgirl.

A thought hit her. What if she really _was_ a lovesick schoolgirl? What if she was in love with _him?_ Those coy glances certainly spelled it out for her…but did he catch on? What if he did? What if he knew she liked him and returned the feelings? Why else would he let a girl like her sit down next to him even if he was possibly in the midst of doing research or finishing a report?

Her heart pounded against her ribcage and her gut twisted uncomfortably. They were smiling and laughing. They were stabbing her twisting gut and wrenching her pounding heart. They were smiling and laughing while stabbing her twisting gut and wrenching her pounding heart.

She tore her gaze away and tried to keep her eyes on the unfinished crane in her hands. She was being silly. They didn't know she was sitting here ten feet away, watching them talk so comfortably with each other…

She was going to do whatever she needed to in order to make sure they didn't know. Placing a calm, unbothered-by-seeing-Axel-Flynn-and-another-girl-smiling-together mask on her face, she sealed up her plastic bag of cranes, threw everything into her tote bag as calmly as she could, gathered up her things, and strode to the exit, tugging up a corner of her lips in a quick smile to Zexion on her way out.

Yeah, she _really_ needed to talk to Demyx.

* * *

**Author's Afterthought: **Cookies to everyone who spotted the _Benefriends_ tidbit! Thank you for reading! Please leave a review! Hope to see you here again in a few days!


	7. Plotting Seeds

**Author's Comments: **I was going to wait until tomorrow to upload this, but then I realized I wouldn't have time. Thanks to everyone who left reviews (and cookies to those who got the _Benefriends_ reference)! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Kingdom Hearts _or the songs _Don't Wanna Lose You_ (by Gloria Estefan) and _It Might Be You_ (by Stephen Bishop)_. _I own Imani.

* * *

"Sora likes your cousin, doesn't he?"

She laughed quietly under her breath after swallowing her sip of iced tea. "It's obvious to everyone except Kairi."

"Kairi likes him back, too."

"And that's obvious to everyone but Sora."

Roxas' laugh stirred her heart. To her it sounded like bells or chimes dancing in the wind. She could listen to it all day. "Anyone planning on fixing that?" he asked.

She turned from him to watch passers outside the small café. "There isn't much we can do," she sighed, shaking her head. "They're each other's best friends."

"There has to be something we can do…What if we set them up on a date?"

"They go out with each other all the time."

Roxas' coffee cup clinked on its saucer as he set it down. "Only each other?"

"Yeah. They go shopping or to the movies or the beach…"

"What if we set them up on a more romantic date?"

Despite steeling her jitters, her heart still leapt when she met his gaze. "Like what?"

"Like dinner for two somewhere," he suggested. "Then they'd find themselves faced with emotional tension and one of them will have to crack under it all and they'll end up together."

She had to glance away. Those blue eyes of his were so deep she was afraid she'd drown in them. It didn't help that her stomach did flips whenever she caught sight of him, even when he _wasn't_ looking at her. "Hmmm…I wonder what Myde would think of that…"

"Who?"

Tucking a stray hair behind her ear, she returned her gaze to him and saw him wrinkling his nose in confusion. "Myde the Prince of Awesome. He hosts The Captive Heart Show on Arpeggio 101.3."

"What's…The Captive Heart Show?" he asked slowly.

"It's like a love counseling show. Kairi listens to it all the time and just recently she's been calling in for advice on how to share her feelings with Sora."

"Has the advice worked?"

"I guess. Kairi keeps listening."

He hummed and nodded, a trace of skepticism in his voice. "So…do you think we should call Mike—"

"Myde," she corrected.

"Sorry. Do you think we should call Myde and ask if that's a good idea?"

She shrugged and sipped her ice tea. "It wouldn't hurt."

"Okay…When's the show?"

"It starts in an hour."

"Guess we've got an hour to kill, then. Is there anything you wanna do?"

She blinked and tilted her head. "You don't have to work today?"

"Nope." He smiled brightly, propping his elbow on the table and resting his head in his hand. "I'm completely free for the rest of the day."

She could feel her heart pick up pace and her breath caught at his smile. Did she understand correctly? He wanted to spend his free time with _her,_ of all people?

"We could just…sit here and talk, I guess…" She trailed off, glancing down at her drink and trying to suppress the smile exploding onto her face.

"Sounds good," she heard him say.

* * *

His jaw dropped and the mic nearly slipped from his hand. His best friend liked his old dorm mate. His best friend—calm, collected, put-up-the-walls-ALL-the-walls Imani—liked his old dorm mate—smooth, smart, trust-me-I'm-a-doctor Axel. _Imani_ (I-can't-trust-you) liked _Axel_ (but-I-really-_am_-a-doctor).

"_Please_ say something," Imani—who _liked Axel _oh my God she liked _Axel_—pleaded.

He did: "We were on air when you said that, you know."

A pause. A long, long pause. "WHAT?"

He threw his head back. Giddy laughter exploded from his chest, rattling his bones and echoing in the studio. "Kidding! Just kidding!"

She cursed under her breath. "Demyx O'Donohue, if you _ever_ pull a stunt like that on me _ever_ again—"

"I'm sorry! I couldn't resist!" When his laughter died down, he quickly set up a couple of ads and a song to run as soon as the song currently playing ended.

Imani moaned in despair into his headphones. "What do I do?"

"Do you want to be with him?" he asked patiently, tapping his finger on his armchair.

"I…I don't know…"

He frowned. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"I don't know. I just met him."

"Then get to know him better. Talk to him."

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"I'm reduced to a mess whenever he's around."

Demyx blinked. He found that hard to believe. Back when she liked Riku (and she _really_ liked Riku), she could still pull off a collected façade in front of the silver-haired boy without breaking a sweat. "No you're not," he tried.

A pause. "I'm _close_ to being reduced to a mess whenever he's around," she corrected begrudgingly.

He still found that declaration hard to believe, but whatever. "If you don't talk to him, someone's gonna get him before you can."

"I know. There was this girl in the library talking to him today. She might have been the one you gave advice to yesterday. 'Onix' or something."

He grimaced. "Oh…"

"Not your fault."

Ignoring the guilt oozing down the back of his mullet-mohawked head, he exhaled with determination. "Well, that's all the more reason you have to talk to Axel and get to know him."

"But—"

"You can't say you've lived life unless you take risks. If you _really_ like him and if you _really_ want to be with him, you _need_ to take a risk."

She didn't say anything for several moments, but eventually she sighed in defeat. "I know."

He glanced at the clock on his computer and at the lineup. It was just about time. "By the way," he quickly started, "was 'WhiteWave'—"

"That was Nam."

"Thought so." He sighed in relief as he straightened in his chair. At least he said _something_ good last night. "I gotta go. _Talk to Axel_."

She hung up with a sigh and he smiled. Things were getting interesting.

Pushing aside the thought, he cheerily crooned into the mic, "It's that time again! This is The Captive Heart Show on Arpeggio 101.3. I'm Myde the Prince of Awesome. Gimme a call or shoot me an email and let me be a part of your night whether you're garnering up the courage to talk to that hot upperclassman—" like a _certain_ _someone_ was supposed to, "—or recovering from a terrible break-up or basking in the love of your life. Let's take a caller, shall we?" He pressed the button for line two. "Hey, who's this?"

"Uh…Nobody."

His ears perked at the male voice…the voice of the boy Kairi and Sora had brought to lunch with them yesterday. Roxas McCartney.

He smirked. "Okay, Mr. Nobody. What can I do for you?"

"I know a guy and a girl who've been best friends their entire lives and who're secretly in love with each other," Mr. Nobody said. "As their mutual friend, I really wanna give them a push in the right direction. Does setting up a romantic dinner for two for them sound like a good idea?"

Roxas was calling about Kairi and Sora? Though he didn't need to, he asked for the sake of remaining anonymous and curious for the listeners, "How much in love are they?"

"If one of them was on the verge of dying and the only way to save them was for the other to drink a concoction made of sea-salt ice cream, ketchup, and chili powder, they'd do it in a heartbeat and beg for seconds."

"Whoa," he laughed. That was a new way of describing it. "In that case, I think dinner for two sounds like the right course of action. You mind giving us another call after all's said and done to let us know how everything went?"

"Sure."

"Okay. Take care, Mr. Nobody." He hung up on Roxas and scrolled through his list of mp3 tracks. "Are _you_ out on a romantic dinner with your special someone?" he asked the listeners. "Let me help with the mood—here's _Don't Wanna Lose You_ by Gloria Estefan."

* * *

She cackled and threw her head back. "Oh Axel, you're too funny!"

"You sure you haven't been drinking on the job, Larxene?" the one-eyed bartender for the night sneered, crossing his arms.

"Xiggy, I'm offended," she gasped dramatically with a glare. "You think I'd do such a thing?"

"You're never in _this_ good of a mood when you're here." His visible golden eye flitted to her right. "Or maybe Mr. Flynn has something to do with that?"

The redheaded man sitting next to Larxene at the counter shrugged and sipped his scotch. "What can I say? I'm quite the charmer."

She had to agree. He was the complete package—smart, suave, and seductive. He was _irresistible_. Larxene could hardly keep her eyes—or her hands—off of him.

The doorbell tinkled and Xigbar turned to see who came in. "Hey, kiddo," he called, smirking at Imani as she dragged her feet into the bar and waved at him. "Rough day at the office?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she mumbled. The girl patted Larxene lightly on the shoulder in greeting before trudging to the kitchen.

"Aw, poor baby," Larxene taunted after her, earning a high-pitched incoherent imitation from Imani just as the kitchen door swung shut. She cackled and shook her head, returning her attention to Axel…

Who was facing away from her and toward the kitchen. Where Imani went.

She brushed off the sinking feeling in her stomach for the moment. "So Axel," she began, placing a hand on his arm, "I heard from Demyx that you're really good with math."

Axel turned back to her and arched an eyebrow. "You need a tutor?"

"I guess you could say that," she purred, inching her fingers to touch his soft hair. She wanted someone to show her how to subtract the clothes, add the bed, divide the legs—

"I know someone who's better than me," he broke through her thoughts. "He's got more free time than I do. You want me to give you his number?"

She huffed, retracting her hand. "No thanks."

A loud curse erupted in the far corner of the bar. A man with his front splashed with beer threw his hands up and stood from his seat, wobbling slightly as he tried to pat down the table with his napkin. Larxene snorted.

"Poor bastard." Xigbar pulled out a rag and tossed it over their heads. "Heads up, Imani!"

Both Larxene and Axel followed the rag as it soared over them until Imani caught it without breaking stride to the customer. "Show-off," Larxene muttered loud enough for her to hear.

"Would you rather handle him?" Imani fired back while turning around to raise her eyebrows at her.

She held up her hands and smirked. "He's all yours, Maxie."

The girl rolled her eyes at the nickname as she turned around again and helped the drunk.

"Maxie?"

Larxene whipped her head back to Axel. "That's my nickname for her," she said, wrinkling her nose at the way he nodded absentmindedly as she didn't say anything at all. His eyes lingered on Imani far longer than she could tolerate.

"Imani's actually been working here since a few years ago," Xigbar explained offhandedly, "but since she and Teef and Zack were afraid she'd get caught or expelled from school or whatever, she wore a wig and colored contacts when she worked and changed her name to Maxiin."

He hummed quietly, a smirk stretching his thin lips. "Interesting."

Blah, blah, blah. She rolled her eyes at all the Maxie talk and leaned towards Axel. "Are you free tomorrow?" she purred again, smiling as sexily as she could at him. "Marly's gonna be away for the weekend so I'll be all alone at our flat. Wanna keep me company?"

She felt like screaming when she saw him shake his head. He didn't even seem sorry. "I've got a sixteen-hour shift at the medical center."

Larxene drew up a tight smile and cooed, "Aw, that's too bad."

He shrugged, glancing at something over her shoulder. "I thought I saw you in the library earlier today, Imani."

"You did?" Imani's voice grew louder as she neared and leaned over the counter behind her to hand the rag back to Xigbar.

"Yeah. You looked like you were folding paper cranes," he said with a sexy smirk.

A sexy smirk that _wasn't_ directed at Larxene_._ The blond clenched her jaw.

"I was. Sorry, I didn't know you were there." Imani stood next to Larxene and Larxene had to stamp repeatedly and dig in her heel on the urge to wring her neck. "You should've come up and said hi."

"I was a little busy."

She flicked her eyes to Imani and saw her put up a guarded smile. "I'm sure you were."

Larxene blinked. What did she mean by that? Did she know Axel was in the library, too? Did she see him with someone else? Did Larxene have _more _competition besides Imani?

Well, she _assumed _Imani was competition. Any girl Axel laid his sharp green eyes on for more than necessary (read: more than he laid them on Larxene) was competition. The overly guarded smile she had on could be a sign, too.

Imani headed down the counter towards the kitchen. "If you don't need me, I'm gonna be in the back."

"Crane duty, huh? How many have you made so far?" Xigbar asked after nodding.

"Forty-two."

"Teef and Cloud are beating you. They've got seventy-four."

She snapped her fingers and stomped a foot in fake frustration. "Dang it! My efforts aren't enough against the power of love!"

Xigbar threw back his head and laughed heartily. Larxene couldn't help giggling at the thought of Tifa and Cloud working together…but soon the giggles stopped bubbling in her chest when she saw Axel's smirk widen into a grin and his eyes remain glued to Imani as she disappeared into the kitchen.

Ooh, that was _it._

"I think that guy wants his check," Xigbar noted, jerking his head to the drunk who spilled beer earlier.

"Got it," she growled, sliding off her stool and stomping over. There was no way around it—Imani was competition. Larxene didn't care whether Imani had feelings for her Axel or not. This was _war_ and there was no way in hell that Larxene Gray was going to lose_.

* * *

_

"Hey, this is Myde the Prince of Awesome. Who's this?"

"S…Somebody."

Demyx reeled back with a frown. First "Nobody" called, then "Somebody" called. From the ever-present boyish timber in this voice, he could only conclude that this was _Sora_.

Huh. Roxas the Nobody and Sora the Somebody. Weird.

He shrugged and brushed aside the thought. "Okay, Mr. Somebody," Demyx said. "Who's on your heart tonight?"

"This girl I know. She's been my best friend my entire life and I'm in love with her but I don't know how she feels about me or if she feels anything for me at all and I really, really want to tell her but I don't want to ruin our friendship and—"

Yup. No doubts now that this was Sora.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on, Mr. Somebody," he swiftly cut in. "What you're saying is that you're in love with your long-time best friend but you're afraid of losing her if you confess."

"R-Right."

He propped up his head and his smile grew. "Tell me this, Mr. Somebody: how much do you love her?"

Sora went silent in thought. "If we ever got separated," he finally murmured, "I'd travel through all the worlds ten times over just to find her. I'd fight whatever stood in my way between me and her. I'd…" he sighed, "I'd _die_ for her."

Demyx swallowed down the "AWWWWWW" creeping up his throat. Roxas' description was pretty creative, but Sora's took the cake…and that disgusting concoction, if he wanted it.

"Well, Mr. Somebody, from what you've told me, I think it's totally worth the risk to tell her your feelings," he told him. "Who knows? Maybe she'll begin to love you back or realize that she's loved you all along…or maybe she _has _loved you all along and has been afraid of telling you because she's afraid she'll ruin your tight friendship."

Hint-hint, wink-wink, nudge-nudge.

"I-I guess…" Sora uncertainly mumbled.

"Just something to think about. Hope things work out for you, Mr. Somebody."

"Thanks, Myde."

Demyx hung up and sighed. "Don't you just love hearing stories about how this person came to love that person so deeply? I know I do. It's so cool how sometimes the one you're meant to be with has been in your life all along. Stephen Bishop knows all about that—here's his hit, _It Might Be You._"

If Sora and Kairi didn't get together after that dinner Roxas (and probably Nam) arranged for them, Demyx had no other choice but to announce it on air every night until they did.

* * *

**Author's Afterthought: **Thanks for reading! Please leave a review! PLEASE!


	8. Set Up

**Author's Comments: **Hello! I keep forgetting to say this, but this is going to be the **LONGEST AU I'VE EVER WRITTEN**. Just thought I'd warn you. I'm thinking about combining chapters again like I did for _Benefriends_ just because I'm afraid I'll end up with a hundred-something chapters by the time this thing comes to a close. I'll probably start with the next chapter...or the chapter after...maybe. We'll see.

I digress. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Kingdom Hearts; _the books _To Kill a Mockingbird _(by Lee Harper) and _Eragon_ (by Christopher Paoli); or the _Mission: Impossible _theme song. I own Imani (though she's not mentioned in this chapter).

* * *

"Seriously? It's the weekend and you've got nothing better to do than read?"

She looked up from her book and blinked. That silver-haired boy from the other day took a seat next to her—the same one he sat in when he found out she wasn't an HBU student. "I thought you said you didn't work today," she replied.

"I don't." He held up a book. "I need this for my report. You finished _To Kill a Mockingbird_ already?"

She glanced at the book in her hands—_Eragon_ by Christopher Paoli—and shrugged. "Not much to do when you don't have any friends to hang out with."

"You've got me," he said simply, rising from his seat. "Do you wanna hang out?"

Her thin eyebrows shot up. "Now? With you?"

"I'm your only friend so far, right? Come on." He patted her shoulder and began walking to the desk to check his book.

She blinked for the second time, uncertain of what to do. She only met this boy—Riku—but he treated her as if he'd known her for years. He showed genuine interest in her.

A smile quirked up a corner of her mouth. Deciding to follow him, she searched for the number of the page she left off on and shut the book, leaving it on the table to jog after him. Forty-six, forty-six. Page forty-six.

"I made another friend yesterday," she found herself telling him when she caught up.

Riku arched an eyebrow at her as he took back his book from the brunette librarian and murmured his thanks. "Oh yeah? Who?"

She hoped he couldn't see her face redden when she said the name: "Axel Flynn."

"What?" He reeled back, his brow furrowed and a glint of disbelief in his jade eyes. "How?"

"He was here yesterday. I went up to him and we started talking."

Riku narrowed his eyes, that disbelief melting into mischief. "Do you like him?"

She flinched, glancing away and cursing at her reaction. Since when did she let her guard down low enough to forget putting on her mask of stoicism and nonchalance? She _never_ flinched whenever someone accused her of certain feelings.

"I won't tell anyone."

She shot him a wary look as she exited through the door he held open for her. Her heart didn't flutter with suspicion, though. For some strange reason, she knew he'd never tell.

Who _was_ this boy that he'd be able to make her act and feel this way?

He held up his hands before him. "Honest. What kind of a friend goes spilling secrets left and right?"

She felt her glare falter until she finally sighed, falling into step next to him as they strode into a courtyard. "I think I like him," she whispered.

"I kinda figured."

That was what he said when he suspected her of trespassing. How ironic to have met him in a library and find that he could read her like an open book.

"What are you gonna do?" he asked.

"I don't know yet," she sighed.

He hummed and nodded, his silver hair almost glimmering in the mid-morning sunlight. She let her eyes roam over his pale, flawless face and his unusual jade eyes. With those looks and that mature personality, he probably had a girlfriend.

"Nope," he said when she asked.

"You _don't?_" she gasped. "_Really?_"

"Why so surprised?"

"You're just…" She shook her head, searching for a way to describe her reasoning without admitting she thought he was good-looking. "You seem like the kind of guy girls would flock to instantly."

He arched an eyebrow at her again, his lips pulling back into a smirk. "I do, huh? Thanks."

"Thanks?" She tilted her head. "For what?"

That smirk grew and the mischievous glint in his eyes returned, sparkling brighter than ever. "For saying I'm hot and irresistible."

She couldn't hold back her blush as she stammered, "I didn't say that!"

"You were thinking it, though."

"I wasn't!"

Riku threw back his head and laughed, that silver hair of his fanning behind him. It was a deep, hearty laugh…the kind of laugh she liked hearing. She faintly thought that hearing his laugh was worth being teased.

Ugh. What an eerily great friendship this was turning out to be.

She blew out her breath harshly and asked, "So where are we gonna hang out?"

"It'd better not be a place with a lot of girls—they'll flock to me instantly because I'm hot and irresistible."

"Will you cut that out?" she groaned half-heartedly as he laughed more.

* * *

Namine hung up on Kairi just as Roxas flipped his phone shut and placed it on the table next to his laptop. "Okay, they're coming," she told him.

"Sweet. I just fixed the reservations." He smiled and raised his eyebrows over his rectangle glasses apprehensively. "Hopefully they won't place us too far away from their table."

"And hopefully Sora doesn't eat more than they can afford," she added, ignoring the mush churning in her stomach…or was her stomach turning to mush?

"He'll probably be too nervous to eat."

"No, he's a nervous eater. A really bad nervous eater."

His bright smile fell and she almost regretted bringing that important detail up. "Should we change the restaurant?"

She slipped the straw of her iced tea between her frowning lips and bit down. "But Lionheart's the most romantic restaurant to dine at."

He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and staring pensively at the screen of his laptop. "Well…There's Sequoia. The ambience isn't as great but it's less expensive."

"Oh yeah…"

"What do you think?" he asked, arching an eyebrow as he flicked his bluer-than-blue eyes to her and sent jolts of electricity down her spine.

Namine tore her eyes away to concentrate. She didn't want Kairi and Sora to get in trouble with management at the most prestigious restaurant in the city. It really wasn't Sora's fault he loved eating so much that it was second nature to him. Perhaps Sequoia was the better choice.

"I think we should change reservations just to be safe," she finally said, earning a nod from Roxas. "I'll call Sequoia."

"Let me get their webpage up." He pressed a button on his phone and cradled it between his head and his shoulder as he typed away. "Hi, I just made a reservation for tonight at six a few minutes ago…"

Namine glanced down at her phone to hide her smile. She couldn't wait to tell Myde about how much better this grown-up Roxas was compared to the blond boy she fell for all those years ago.

* * *

She looked up from the Bloody Mary she was in the middle of mixing when the doorbell tinkled. "Hey, you lovebirds." Tifa smiled at Zack and Aerith as they came in. "How'd it go?"

"It was wonderful!" Aerith exclaimed. "The entire building was something you'd only see in a fairytale and the staff were so genuine and understanding."

"And the food was _so_ good," Zack added, patting his flat stomach. "We're getting married there."

"Well, we still need to look at a few places before we make the decision."

"Trust me. We're getting married there."

Tifa rolled her eyes at his certainty, placing the Bloody Mary on the counter and instructing him to give it to the customer at table three. "So what's next on the agenda?" she asked Aerith when he left.

She slid onto a barstool and placed her notebook and planner before her, leafing through both. "I've got an appointment with Ferguson Florists later this afternoon and then tomorrow morning my mother and I are meeting with Cinderella Cakes…and later on we're meeting with Fairy Godmother Dresses for a consultation…"

Tifa shook her head. The days on Aerith's calendar were overflowing with scribbles and notes. "Busy, busy, busy, huh? If there's anything I can do, let me know, 'kay?"

"Actually," she looked up at her, "there is something I've been wanting to ask you."

"What is it?"

She leaned forward with a small, hesitant smile. "Will you be my maid of honor?"

Tifa's heart stopped and her breath caught in her throat. She ran the question through her head several times before she could find the words to respond. "You want _me_ to…"

Aerith nodded fervently, her bangs bouncing with her movement. "You're like my sister. I can't picture anyone else standing next to me." She shot a glance at Zack as he sat down on the barstool next to Cloud. "Neither of us can."

She clenched her jaw to keep herself from biting her lip. Aerith was like a sister to her, too, and of course she'd do anything for her…but if Tifa and Aerith were like sisters, then Zack and Cloud were brothers (not "like brothers"; they _were _brothers). Knowing that, Tifa had a sinking feeling that the happy couple would ask Cloud to be Zack's best man…and she wasn't sure she could deal with that.

"Please, Tifa?"

She couldn't dwell on such a small issue. She wasn't even supposed to be having an issue with the idea of being paired with Cloud. They were brother and sister. There wasn't anything romantic between them and she doubted there ever would be.

"I'd love to be your maid of honor," she finally murmured with a smile.

* * *

"You want me to be your best man?" Cloud repeated slowly.

"Yeah." Zack nodded. "You'll do it, right?"

He averted his gaze to the worn counter. Why wouldn't he be Zack's best man? They were like brothers. Hell, sometimes a random acquaintance or two would instantly assume that they _were_ brothers just by watching them talk for a minute or two. Who was he to say no?

Besides, knowing Zack and Aerith, Tifa would _surely_ be maid of honor.

"Surely," he mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?"

Cloud looked up to Zack again. "Sure."

"Great! I knew I could count on you." He clapped a hand on his shoulder with a grin.

He shot a glance at Tifa a ways off down the counter. She and Aerith were smiling as they peered at the open books between them.

When Cloud arched an eyebrow at him, Zack held his hands up defensively. "Aerith wants Teef to be her maid of honor and I want you to be my best man. If you wanna go into things like ulterior motives, then leave me out of it."

Cloud wasn't too tempted. It wasn't like he _minded_ that Tifa would be maid of honor and paired up with him in the procession. As long as it wasn't Yuffie he had to deal with…

"By the way, can you think of anyone we forgot to put on the list?"

A torn-out paper was thrust into his face. Silently Cloud took it and scanned the columns of names. Scattered throughout the list between names of family members were the names of some close and fairly-close friends: Yuffie, Vincent, Leon, Rinoa, Cid, Aqua, Terra, Ventus, Larxene, Xigbar, Sora, Kairi, Riku, Namine, Demyx, Xaldin, Megara, Hercules…

"Not that I can think of…" Cloud finally murmured.

"That's what I thought." Zack crossed his arms smugly. "Aerith just wanted me to double-check with you."

"You didn't add Axel's name, did you?"

Cloud watched bemusedly as the smirk on Zack's face completely disappeared. "Do we _have_ to invite him?" he groaned.

"_Yes,_" Aerith sighed, making her way over. "It's because of him that I have a possible florist for the wedding. From what I've heard, he's been a loyal Seventh Heaven customer, too, right?"

"He's only been here three or four times since you brought him."

"But he'll become a regular in no time, won't he?" Aerith slipped between Zack and Cloud with a pen, writing down the redhead's name and shooting Zack a stern look. "If I see that his name's been taken off from the list, we're pushing the wedding back to next year."

Cloud held back a snicker at Zack's moan of despair.

"Are you going to let the guests bring dates?" Tifa asked, joining the three. "Cid will want to bring his wife and I heard Xigbar's not single anymore…"

"He's _not?_" Zack cried, exchanging a slightly disturbed look with Cloud. Who'd want to date _Xigbar?_

Both women rolled their eyes and Aerith shrugged. "I don't see why not. I'll add the option on the RSVP card with the invitation. We're going to send them out by Tuesday." She glanced at the clock behind Tifa and gasped. "Is that the time already? We'd better get going."

"Have fun!" Tifa sing-songed as the two hurried out. When the doorbell tinkled, she exhaled in satisfaction before locking her wine-colored eyes with his electric blue ones. "Are you Zack's best man?"

Cloud nodded.

She smiled, arching an eyebrow. "Looks like we're paired up, huh?"

Cloud hummed, allowing a small smile to crook his lips. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.

* * *

She wiggled her cramped toes in her high-heels as she sat on the bench outside the rustic Sequoia. She'd always pass this place on her way to and from school when she went to Hollow Bastion High, but she'd never actually eaten here before. Excitement bubbled in her stomach…

That is, until her phone rumbled with a text message from Namine.

_I'm sorry for lying to you, Kairi, but Roxas and I won't be coming tonight. We really wanted you and Sora to spend dinner alone together. I hope you're not too mad! Have fun!_

She was very glad she applied a healthy amount of blush to her cheeks when she did her makeup earlier when she read the last sentence:

_ P.S. You should take this chance to reveal your feelings for him!_

"Kairi!"

The girl jumped in her seat at the voice. A breathless Sora collapsed into the space next to her, pocketing his car keys and apologizing left and right. "My stupid car wouldn't start the first three times and I only realized I forgot my wallet in my dorm when the car _did _start—"

"Nam and Roxas aren't coming."

He paused mid-apology, bringing up his head from the half-bow it was bent in. "They're not?"

"They…They were never going to come." Her heartbeat picked up pace as she looked apprehensively into his wide eyes. "They set us up."

* * *

"Maybe we should've waited until after they went inside to send the text…"

Namine's fingers froze in the middle of twirling a tress of the short brunette wig pinned to her head. She glanced at Roxas sitting in the driver's seat of his car. "Why do you say that?"

"They might decide to cancel their reservation and eat somewhere else," he muttered, twisting his lips into a frown. The aviator shades on his face hid his eyes but she could hear them darken with dread.

She nearly gasped, mentally slapping her palm to her forehead. The thought didn't occur to her. With bated breath she saw Kairi and Sora stand from the bench and talk more, praying they'd go inside…

Ah! They were going in!

"That's our cue." Roxas flipped the lock open on his door with one finger. "Let's go."

Namine tried to climb out as gracefully as she could in her meager one-and-a-half-inch heels and her short-but-not-too-short skirt. She was glad there wasn't another car parked on her side. She knew she'd surely put a dent in it with her clumsiness.

Roxas met her near the headlights of his car, extending a hand and offering a smile. "Ready?"

Her insides churned pleasantly as she placed her hand in his and returned the smile. "Yup."

With that, the two crossed the lot to the restaurant entrance. Namine couldn't hold back a giggle as she heard Roxas sing the _Mission: Impossible_ theme under his breath: "Dun, dun, dun-dun dun, dun, dun-dun…"

* * *

**Author's Afterthought: **The next chapter will be centered solely around Sora, Kairi, Roxas, and Namine. I think I'll start extending chapters after the next one goes up. Sound good? Thanks for reading! Please leave a review!


	9. The Mission

**Author's Comments: **Okay, so after this one, the chapters will be twice as long and the story will be updated less often. Please, please leave reviews and let me know how I'm doing! Hope you enjoy this!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Kingdom Hearts. _I own Imani.

_

* * *

_

"What are you gonna get, Kairi?"

She hummed thoughtfully. "I'm not sure…Either the Sea Bass or the Lemon Prawns. What about you?"

"I don't know! They all sound so good!"

Kairi glanced over the top of her menu at the boy sitting across from her, stifling a giggle at the concentrated glare he shot at his own menu. "We can always come back another time and you can try something different," she reminded him.

His brow drooped as he sighed. "I know…"

Typical Sora. It always took him at least fifteen minutes to narrow his choices down and another ten or so to actually choose. To top it off, the amount of time he took to choose a dessert _doubled_ in comparison to choosing an entrée.

She didn't mind. She thought it was adorable.

"Gah!" He shut his menu and laid it down in his lap beneath the table, snatching his glass of water and taking a gulp. "Four-Cheese Ravioli. Don't let me change my mind."

"Okay," she laughed, closing her own menu. She'd get the Sea Bass.

Setting down his glass, he smiled cheekily at her before letting his blue sparkling eyes roam around the dimly-lit room. "Nice, huh?"

With his attention distracted, she let her own eyes take in Sora. A fond smile crept onto her face at his slightly-wrinkled collared shirt and soft, unruly spikes. Maybe it was the dancing candlelight or the rich colors of the tapestries on the walls but in a strange way, he looked both childish and mature at the same time.

"Yeah," she murmured. "Nice."

His eyes locked with hers and she forced herself to snap out of her daze. "So…" she trailed off, searching for a conversation topic that didn't include how handsome Sora looked tonight. "What do you suppose Nam and Roxas are doing now since they aren't here with us?"

He shrugged with one shoulder. "I dunno."

"What do you think of Roxas, anyway?"

"Uh…He's okay, I guess."

"Do you think he's good for Nam?"

"Yeah. They really like each other, don't they?"

She thought back to the way Roxas hardly kept his eyes off of Namine when they ate lunch together. That interest he showed in her was as clear to her as the difference between day and night.

"You okay?"

Kairi nodded, her smile widening. "I'm just thinking about how I was wrong about him."

"About Roxas?" He blinked and leaned forward slightly. "What do you mean?"

"I was afraid he'd break Nam's heart, but when I look at him, I can't see anything but devotion for her. I think they'd be really great together."

"So you…_don't_ like him?"

The words shocked her as if Sora had poured his water over the top of her head and let the ice cubes slip down the back of her dress. "What? No! No, I don't like him! What made you think that?"

"I dunno!" Sora glanced away bashfully. "I just…You were looking at him a lot the other day at lunch so I thought…"

"I was scoping him out because I wanted to see if he was good enough for Nam," she explained numbly. He noticed something like that? He assumed…?

Hesitantly he met her gaze again and offered a small smile. "Oh. Okay, then."

Was it the candlelight or did he look _relieved? _Could he have been concerned that Kairi liked Roxas? But why would he have been concerned about something like that? Could he…?

Just as she was about to ask, a waiter came up to their table with a warm smile and a pen and pad at the ready.

* * *

Roxas pointed at his menu for the waiter. "I'll have the New York Strip."

The waiter nodded and turned on the balls of his feet to the girl sitting across from Roxas. "And for you, miss?"

"The Lemon Prawns," she said.

"Alright." He took both of their menus and told them before leaving, "I'll be right back with some bread."

He settled into his lacquered wooden chair and shot a glance at Kairi and Sora. The pair appeared to be engaged in light conversation. Unfortunately there were at least two tables between them (with a particularly chatty group right next to Roxas and Namine's table) so eavesdropping was out of the question.

He didn't mind. That just gave him the excuse to focus more on Namine than on Kairi and Sora.

He averted his attention from them to find Namine trying to pat down her hair inconspicuously. "How's the wig holding up?"

She half-smiled, half-frowned, and shrugged a shoulder. When they were scanning the shelf of wigs at the salon earlier that day, she'd admitted she'd never worn a wig before. From the perplexed look on her face, he could tell that this would be her first and last experience with one, if she had anything to say about it.

He didn't blame her. It was weird enough for him to have to keep his usually spiky hair gelled down completely. He probably used a whole bottle of gel to keep it all down.

"How're the colored contacts?" Namine asked him.

Roxas blinked mid-chuckle. "You can tell that they're colored?"

"It's subtle," she said with a nod, "but the shade of your contacts' irises are slightly greener than your normal eyes."

Of course she'd notice a difference like that even in dim lighting. She had an artist's eye. "Which do you like better?"

Namine glanced away for a split-second, mumbling so quietly he almost couldn't hear, "I like your eyes."

Roxas' eyesight wasn't too bad, either, even though he had to wear glasses every so often. He liked to think the dim lighting wasn't playing tricks on him when he spotted a blotch of red on each of her pale cheeks. "Thanks." He smiled. "I don't have a preference."

Her brow furrowed beneath her side-swept bangs. "For what?"

"For your hair color. You look good both as a blonde and a brunette."

"Thanks." The blotches deepened in color and Roxas had to tone down his smile lest she noticed how much he enjoyed seeing her blush. "I'm just like Imani, then…"

"Like who?"

"A friend of mine…and theirs." She nodded to Kairi and Sora. "She used to do the undercover secret-identity thing all the time when we were in high school."

Roxas leaned forward, placing his forearms on the table. "Really?"

* * *

"Were you worried that I might have liked Roxas?"

Sora nearly choked on his water. "Me? Worried?" he sputtered, plastering on a smile that stretched his mouth uncomfortably. "Ha ha, of course not! Why would I be worried about something like that?"

Kairi shrugged. "I dunno. Just asking."

He laughed nervously, his fingers fiddling with the edge of his napkin on his lap. Good thing Namine wasn't here to call his bluff and embarrass him in that way she said nothing aloud yet spelled everything out with her perceptive eyes and knowing smile. Sora was half-tempted to dash to the bathroom and call up Riku.

He wouldn't _really_ do that. That'd make him feel more pathetic than he already felt.

_"There's bound to be a time when Roxas and Namine go off and do their own thing,"_ Riku told him over the phone five minutes before Sora took off from the dorm. _"You should use that chance to ask her what she likes about you or even fess up about your feelings for her. Don't let the moment pass."_

With Roxas and Namine completely _not here_, any moment could be _the_ moment. How was he supposed to know which moment was the right one? How was he supposed to bring up something like _feelings?_ _Could_ he bring it up?

"You know…"

Sora bit his tongue to keep himself from jumping in his seat at Kairi's sudden murmur.

"Considering we're best friends," she began, "we've never really talked about who we like, have we?"

He felt the back of his neck break out in a cold sweat. "Wow, you're right," he said after pretending to think. "How weird."

Her blue eyes sparkled in the candlelight. Kairi propped up her head with her elbow on the table, asking curiously, "Is there anyone you like right now?"

Oh God. Was this the moment? It was, wasn't it? Okay. He could do this. No pressure. Kairi brought this upon herself by asking. Sora would just open his mouth and answer honestly…

"Is there anyone _you_ like right now?"

Dammit. He couldn't do it.

She arched an eyebrow playfully. "I asked first."

"Ladies first," he fired back easily, allowing an honest smile to pull back his lips.

With a resigned sigh and a wider smile, she mumbled, "There is."

Immediately his heart began hammering against his ribcage. "Who?" Sora blurted.

She dodged the question. "You have to tell me if there's anyone you like!"

It was at times like these when Sora wished he'd been born with a witty streak to help him think of something to say to avoid answering. Alas, he had no witty streak. "T-There's someone I like, too," he admitted, his fingers completely tangled in his napkin.

"Who?" she blurted as quickly as he did.

He fumbled for a response when the waiter returned, setting a basket in the middle of their table. "Here's some bread for you two."

"Thanks," Sora sighed in relief, snatching a roll and stuffing it into his mouth.

Kairi took a roll but continued to press, "Sora, come on! Tell me!"

He tried to retaliate with "You tell me!" only it sounded like "Ooh eh ee!"

"Four-Cheese Ravioli?"

The waiter was back—the man was turning into Sora's hero!—with two plates of food. Sora's hand shot up and the waiter placed the pasta before him. "Here's your Sea Bass," he said to Kairi as he placed her fish before her. "Is there anything else I can get for you?"

They shook their heads. "We're good, thanks."

The waiter nodded, bid them a good meal, and left. Instantly Kairi pounced: "Okay, let's do this: you can tell me who you like _after_ we've eaten."

"Only if you tell me who you like, too." He stabbed a ravioli piece and shoveled it into his mouth as she nodded and sealed his fate.

* * *

"So Demyx ended up splashing the principal with his bucket of water!" Namine finished with a laugh, covering her mouth. They couldn't laugh too loudly otherwise they'd attract attention—particularly Sora and Kairi's.

Roxas snorted into the back of his hand. "That's so hilarious."

Namine nodded, setting down her fork with a content sigh. The Lemon Prawns were delicious. "Did your school have any troublemakers like Demyx?"

"I'm best friends with _the_ worst troublemaker in Twilight Town High history," he said, his voice tinged with a bit of pride. "He _intentionally_ caused riots, which made everything a helluva lot more fun."

"What was the worst thing he did?"

"Everything he did was pretty much on the same level as far as delinquency went…" He hummed in thought and let his blue eyes drift to the ceiling. "One time he set the banner advertising the junior/senior prom on fire."

Namine's jaw dropped. "He _did?_"

"He had a strange obsession with fire. He also hacked into the school system and marked a regular school day as a holiday so none of us showed up. The teachers were as confused as most of the students were and no one could ever find the culprit."

"He sounds really smart."

"Oh yeah, he's super smart. He graduated top of his class a year early, graduated _two_ years early at HBU with a Bachelor's in medical sciences, and now he's interning at HBMC."

She nodded slowly…then stopped. Graduated two years early at HBU? With a Bachelor's in medical sciences? Interning at HBMC? Why did that sound so familiar…?

"Wait!" she gasped. "Are you talking about Axel Flynn?"

Roxas nodded nonchalantly. "Yeah. We've been best friend since middle school."

For the second time her jaw dropped. "He was a prankster?"

"Not that hard to believe. When you look at him, you instantly think 'devil's spawn,' right?"

She pictured the redheaded student with his tattoos and sharp smirk. "Now that I think about it…you have a point."

"Strange kid, that Axel." Roxas set down his fork and leaned back in his chair.

Namine smiled. What a small world.

His eyes flicked to his right at the couple they were supposed to be spying on. "I wonder if they've confessed anything yet…"

Her eyes followed his gaze. Her cousin and her best friend laughed easily, so she assumed they hadn't said anything. She hoped they would soon.

* * *

Sora had come up with the excuse that they hadn't truly finished eating without ordering dessert and Kairi had agreed without wasting a moment. Her stomach churned with every bite she took of the Fruit Cobbler they were sharing—not because the ice cream was spoiled (the ice cream was _delicious_) but because she was counting the seconds until she'd have to reveal all.

Too soon the dish was practically licked clean and the check came. Sora insisted on getting it, adding with a light teasing tone, "In exchange, you have to confess first."

She was running out of escape routes. Each witty remark she conjured and every excuse she whipped up was stamped with red ink and labeled "LAME" and "USELESS."

"You know what?" Sora leaned back in his chair as the waiter took away the check, "maybe it should wait until after we've left. You never know if someone's trying to eavesdrop on you for something to gossip about later."

Her eyes flitted from one table to the other, finally landing on a table a ways away to her left. A woman with short sleek brown hair and a man with his blond hair gelled down and parted to the side sat conversing between themselves. Kairi couldn't see the man's face, but the woman's reminded her of Namine.

Huh.

"Good idea," she said, tearing her gaze away and flashing a grin at him. "Someone could be in disguise and watching our every move."

With that thought, Sora's dazzling smile broke through for a moment, disappearing with a stern glare as he brought a hand up to his chin. "We're under surveillance, Agent Kay," he muttered to her. "Remain calm and exit the premises without drawing attention."

Kairi nearly burst out laughing. She loved playing pretend with Sora. He always had the best imagination.

She toned down her grin into a smug smirk. "Roger, Agent Ess."

Once the waiter returned the check, the two of them left the tip and strode through the restaurant arm-in-arm as elegantly as they could. They held in their laughter—Kairi could tell he was on the verge of cracking from the way his arm kept shaking around hers—until they made it to her car. Once at the driver's side, they leaned heavily against the car and exploded.

"M-Miss…" Sora began to say between laughs, "Mission accomplished, Agent Kay."

"G-Goo…Good work, Agent Ess," she barely uttered before breaking out in giggles again, turning to smile brightly at him…

His face was very, very close. A clump of spiked hair tickled her nose as she forgot about playing secret spy. She could see the corner of his tightly-shut eye glisten with tears of mirth. His laughter echoed in her ears.

"Kairi?"

She blinked and gasped quietly. Suddenly his laughter cut off. When did he turn his head? When did he stop smiling? Since when had he looked so perfect?

On impulse, she moved forward and pressed her lips to his, closing her eyes and praying he wouldn't move back or push her away. The adrenaline from the past few minutes coursed in her veins like liquid fire. Her heart pounded.

Something slithered around her waist and pulled her closer to Sora. Her head tilted back and his lips moved with hers, stealing her breath and turning her brain to mush. Like a mantra she repeated in her head, _He's kissing back. He's kissing back. He's kissing back._

This _couldn't_ be a dream.

* * *

They craned their necks and stood on their tiptoes. "They're kissing, right?" Roxas hissed.

"I think so." She squinted her eyes. "It's hard to tell since Kairi's car's blocking them."

With a sigh, he stood back on his heels and crossed his arms. "Well, I think our work here is done."

Namine nodded, smiling up at him. "Mission accomplished."

The light from inside the restaurant made her pale skin glow warmly and her blue eyes sparkle. If she weren't wearing that wig, he'd imagine her blond silky-looking hair would glimmer. He envied Sora for being able to kiss the girl of his dreams…and decided that he'd need to look up what the name of the exact shade of blue Namine's pretty eyes was.

Shaking his thoughts away, he jerked his head to the entrance of the restaurant. "Let's go back in. I think they brought our dessert by now."

* * *

**Author's Afterthought: **I have no creativity to make up my own dinner entrees so I took ideas from what I imagined would be a Sequoia-ish restaurant: the Storyteller's Cafe restaurant at the Disney Grand Californian Hotel.

**Shout out to GreyPurpleBlack** for the awesome idea!

Please leave a review! Please! They make my day! Thank you for reading!


	10. Extended Operations

**Author's Comments: **Hello! I have an announcement to make! I finally have a general idea of what I want to do for the _**Benefriends **_**sequel!** It finally clicked last night right as I was about to fall asleep. I hope you'll look forward to it!

Anyway, thank you for your awesome reviews and your patience. Enjoy this much, much longer chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Kingdom Hearts_; the song _Lucky_ (by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat); any of the wedding cake designs described; or any of the alcoholic drinks mentioned (except the _name_ of the drink Axel gets). I own Imani.

_

* * *

_

The story didn't get old, not even after hearing it for the third time tonight. Every story had two—or more—sides to it. Demyx loved details and being immersed in all aspects of a happy ending. His heart melted and he just couldn't keep his smile off his face.

Kairi sighed on the other end of the line. "I still can't believe any of that happened! I don't know how to act tomorrow when I'm around him. What should I do, Myde?"

He hummed in understanding and nodded. "I think you should be yourself," he said. "The only thing that's different now is that you both know about each other's feelings. If you want, you can talk to Sky about what kind of relationship you two want now that you realize that you two love each other deeply."

"That sounds like a good idea."

"I've been wondering—Are you still cooking for him?"

"I haven't made anything lately, but I will! I might even let him help out."

"That's a great date night idea!" They laughed and Demyx sincerely told her, "I'm really happy to hear that things worked out for you and Sky."

"Thanks so much, Myde."

"Take care." He hung up on Kairi and began playing a song. "And so, tonight marks the beginning of a new journey for two people in love. This song goes out to Thalassa and Sky. This is _Lucky_ by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat."

Demyx leaned back in his chair with a sigh, tapping his toes to the strumming of the song. He thought back to that feeling he had almost a week ago when he saw his dirty window. A lot happened since then—Namine reconnected with the only guy she'd ever had feelings for; Kairi and Sora, who'd liked each other for _years_, finally got together; Zack and Aerith got engaged; and Imani fell for the last person anyone would ever imagine her falling for.

A low whistle slipped past his puckered lips. Some amazing things sure did happen in the past week…but the humming and the singing and the pounding all around him told Demyx that this was only the beginning. Things were just getting started.

Yup. His awesomazingness (awesome _and_ amazing) senses were tingling. The time was coming for the Prince of Awesome to rise to the challenge of conquering all doubts and guiding the poor citizens' confused hearts to their havens of peace and true love. Only Myde, the strong, sensible DJ of emotion and maturity with exceeding good looks could defeat the evils set agai—

Demyx yelped, falling from his dramatic pose gazing into the imaginary sunset on his rolling chair and tumbling to the ground, bringing the mic with him and hitting his head on the edge of the table. Ouch.

* * *

All the fingers of her left hand bookmarked various pages of the picture album as she looked at all the wedding cake designs Cinderella Cakes had to offer. She'd lost count of how many times her breath had been caught in her throat.

"They're all beautiful," Aerith murmured, flipping the page as her mother hummed in agreement.

Cinderella, owner of the confectionary and the woman assisting Aerith with her choice, thanked her for the kind compliment. "Would either of you like more water?"

"Yes, please." She and her mother smiled gratefully at Cinderella as she exited the room to refill their glasses. Aerith sighed and turned to her mother. "What do you think so far?"

"I like the three-layered one with the pink flowers the best," she answered honestly. "That cherry blossom one was pretty, too."

"And the one with the white gerberas and the dark pink roses was lovely," Aerith added. Another sigh and she flipped the next page. "At this rate, I'll never be able to choose…"

She trailed off, gazing in awe at the picture of a gorgeous white four-layer cake. Besides the bottommost one, each layer haphazardly on one of its edges while a cluster of brightly colored flowers supported its angle. The topmost layer—a short cylinder—was almost completely covered with flowers.

"This one," she breathed. "It's perfect."

Soft footsteps approached them and Cinderella set down their glasses of water. "Ah, I love that design," she cooed. "It's one of my favorites."

Aerith's smile grew. "I'd like you to do this one for me."

* * *

He shut the cover of the last one and pushed the pile away from him gently. "Your books are due in two weeks," Zexion droned, nodding politely as the student strode off.

The moment the student left, he returned his attention to the computer screen and continued his game of solitaire. Riku had insisted on filing away the books in the back room without Zexion's help so the slate-haired junior was left to his own devices. The sophomore claimed that there was no better way to kill the five hours for which he was stuck here.

Zexion suspected otherwise. He saw the way Riku stole glances at the mysterious shorthaired girl who always sat at the table near the realistic fiction section. Studying toward a degree in behavioral psychology was not necessary to come to the realization that Riku had some sort of interest in that girl.

Said girl suddenly passed his desk, flashing a small smile to him as she headed for a shelf near that table she always sat at.

One indigo eye followed her. It struck him as odd that she came nearly every day, spending hours and hours in that same chair reading a book. She never checked out books to take home with her. She never brought study materials of any sort. He couldn't recall ever seeing her anywhere on campus.

Of course, Hollow Bastion University was a large school with several campuses. The school only had one library, however, so perhaps the girl studied at a different campus yet came here for a change of scene after studying hard all day.

"Zexion Corazza."

The explanation could certainly apply to a redheaded genius.

"Axel Flynn," Zexion drawled back, a lazy smirk pulling a corner of his mouth. "To what do I owe the honor?"

"Just dropping in to say hi. You're coming tonight, right?"

"I've no other plans."

"Great. Roxas said he's coming, too…"

Zexion averted his gaze from Axel to the girl who'd popped up next to him, beaming up at the tall man…the same girl Riku might have been interested in. "Hi, Axel," she whispered brightly.

He grinned. "Hey, Xion. What's up?"

"Not much. You?"

"Not much."

Undivided attention, megawatt smile, tucking hair behind her ear…It appeared that this girl—Xion—harbored a special interest in Axel…an interest similar to the likes Riku had for her.

"I want you to meet someone…" Xion's smile faltered and she craned her neck to search the library floor. "Where did he go…? Oh! There he is. Riku!"

Zexion's eyebrow—the one underneath his curtain of hair—arched as he watched Riku reluctantly approach the group, a few books still cradled in one arm. Stiff shoulders, guarded gaze eyeing Axel in appraisal, placing his free hand on his hip…Perhaps Riku saw Axel as competition.

Zexion settled back in his chair, crossing his arms and allowing a smirk onto his face. This was going to be interesting.

"Axel," Xion began, waving to the silver-haired boy, "This is Riku. Riku, this is Axel."

The two offered smirks—Riku's looking a bit tight to Zexion—to each other before shaking hands. "Whoa, you've got a firm grip," Axel commented with a slight laugh. "You know, I think I've seen you around before…Do you have any classes in the Nomura building?"

"Yeah, I'm there at least four times a week."

"That must be it. I pass the building all the time to get to my car from the grad campus."

Riku nodded, the tension in his shoulders disappearing little by little. "You used to be Demyx's dorm mate, too, right?"

Axel blinked in surprise. "Yeah. You know him?"

"We went to the same high school and he hangs out with us all the time."

Movement in his peripheral caused Zexion to flick his eyes to his left. A yawning Imani was entering the library with nothing but a boutique shopping bag and her cell phone in her hands. She spotted Zexion and smiled—

"So you know Imani, then?"

His ears twitched. Something akin to vibrancy echoed in Axel's hushed voice when he asked that question. He would've let his eyes zoom back to Axel to confirm his assumption but the frozen smile and the widened eyes of Imani—trained not on Zexion but at something…some_one_ to his right, most definitely with red spiky hair—snagged his attention.

He arched an eyebrow (the one not hidden by his hair) at her. Imani and Axel were acquainted?

She blinked, steadily backed away towards the staircase, and donned a calm mask, shooting Zexion a warning glare that screamed _Don't you DARE say anything or I'll tell Demyx you take pictures of him while he's sleeping so you can sell them to his fangirls behind his back._

"Yeah, I know her."

His stomach clenched under his sweater from holding in his snort at Imani's look and he returned to the conversation before him. Apparently they were…and Imani didn't seem entirely happy with the fact.

"Who's Imani?" Xion wanted to know.

Slightly creased brow, absent megawatt smile, increase in volume when she spoke…Miss Xion appeared a bit jealous.

"She's a close friend of mine." Riku quirked an eyebrow at Axel. "What's she to you?"

"Several things." Axel ticked off each item with his fingers. "My classmate under Professor Gainsborough, my future colleague in the field, and the girl I dream about making love to every night."

Zexion couldn't hold back the disbelieving snicker his last item warranted. The color drained from Xion's face and flushed luridly on Riku's. "What the hell?" the silver-haired boy snarled as Xion helplessly croaked.

Axel held up his hands. "I'm kidding…kind of."

"Y-You…" Xion's shoulders slumped and she lost all energy in her voice. "You like her?"

"Afraid so." He shrugged, lowering one hand and raising the other to ruffle the back of his head. Xion averted her gaze to the floor and Riku looked tempted to wrap an arm around the girl.

The wheels in Zexion's head turned. Was Imani aware of this? Could her possible desire to avoid Axel have been stirred by this? He couldn't say…but he'd possibly find out tonight.

"I'd better get going," Axel said. "I still have a paper to finish. I'll see you guys later." He began heading for the exit. "Nice meeting you, Riku."

"You too," he answered back distractedly, his eyes focused on Xion.

Zexion stifled a sigh, sitting up in his chair and taking the mouse in his hand to continue his solitaire game. His life at Hollow Bastion University just _teemed_ with romance wherever he looked—his dorm mate was a romance radio show host, there was a stack of romance novels waiting to be re-shelved every single day he came here, and an episode of a poorly-written soap opera just unfolded before him in the past five minutes.

He found it all oddly amusing…for the moment.

* * *

Her homework was long forgotten, sitting on her desk in all its uncompleted disgrace. So what if it was due tomorrow morning for her first class and she only finished half (the easier half after she skimmed all the questions)? Her cousin and best friend finally got together with the love of her life.

"I'm really happy for you, Kairi," Namine said honestly with a huge smile, hugging her pillow and watching Kairi recall her dinner (the one Namine had spied on with Roxas) from her bed.

Kairi shook her head dazedly, staring at the ceiling while lying on Imani's bed. "I still can't believe it's really happening. When Sora said 'Good morning, beautiful' when he called me this morning, I thought I was still sleeping."

She laughed quietly and threw herself onto her side. "So what now?"

"Well, Myde says to be myself and to talk to Sora about what we want to do now that we know."

"Good plan."

"Yeah…So-o-o…"

Namine's brow inched together. Kairi's mischievous tone was coating her voice heavily. "What?"

Kairi turned onto her side, smiling at her cousin across the room. "Now we've gotta get you and Roxas together."

She blinked wide-eyed. "You approve of him?"

"I think he's a good guy. He seems to care about you a lot."

"I-I don't know about that…"

"What are you talking about? Do you see the way he looks at you?"

Namine tried to banish the blush from her face…but knew she was failing terribly. "I don't want to get my hopes up and then realize he only sees me as a friend," she sighed.

With a thoughtful hum Kairi studied Namine and concluded, "We'll have to talk to Myde, won't we?"

"Sure," she laughed, flipping onto her back and squeezing the pillow tighter. "You know…I wonder how many relationships he's been through to have that much knowledge about love…"

"He's probably in a relationship right now," Kairi asserted.

"And whoever he's with is the luckiest person in the world."

"I don't know about that. He's giving advice to everyone almost every night. His lover might get jealous that he's spending more time with us listeners than with her."

"But I'm sure he makes up for it on the nights he doesn't have to work. He'd probably take her for a romantic dinner at Lionheart and then drive down to the beach and take a moonlit stroll."

"Or he'd take her to the movies to see that new romantic comedy she's been dying to see and then take her out to ice cream at Timeless River after and they'd share a banana split."

"Or they'd stay home and watch old movies all night, cuddling on the couch with a bowl of popcorn."

A wistful sigh from Kairi. "The list goes on, doesn't it?"

Namine smiled to the ceiling. "Myde must be the most romantic guy in the world…"

Kairi agreed. "He has the night off tonight. I wonder what he's doing now…"

* * *

There were Sunday nights when he missed being in the studio of Arpeggio 101.3, empathizing with the woes and fears and happy endings of the listeners. He missed that insanely long playlist, still filled with songs he hadn't used yet. He missed the comfy swivel chair and the snug earphones and the—

Oh screw it. He didn't miss _any_ of that tonight. For the first time in the month since The Captive Heart Show began airing, he was _not_ in his dorm, slaving over his homework with Zexion to keep him on track. He was drinking with the guys and having a few laughs…or, at least, Axel was.

"You still don't have a girlfriend yet?" Axel exclaimed over the din of the bar.

"I'm not in a hurry." Demyx shrugged, turning to the blond boy who just happened to be Axel's best friend. What a small world they lived in. "What about you, Roxas?"

As Demyx downed the last of his beer, Roxas fiddled with the straw of his empty glass of lemon water, keeping his gaze on the table. "There's this one girl…"

"Ooh!" Demyx slammed the bottle on the table and leaned closer to Roxas (who backed away with a slightly disturbed look). "Tell me more! Tell me more! Was it love at first sight?"

"Demyx, I will dump my drink over your head if you start singing _Grease_ songs."

Roxas' eyes darted to the _evil, callous_ man threatening to ruin Demyx's hair. "He starts singing when he's drunk?"

"No," Zexion droned. "He does it when he's sober, too."

Oh, enough about Demyx! Did Roxas like Namine back or not? "C'mon!" Demyx prompted, bouncing in his seat. "Really! Tell us."

The spiky-haired boy deflated under all Demyx's eagerness (no one can resist the Prince of Awesome, even when he's undercover!) and mumbled, "She's a girl I knew from elementary school."

Demyx nodded. Namine went to the same elementary school as Roxas.

"Wow. You've liked a girl _that_ long?" Axel deadpanned.

Roxas shook his head. "No, I just reconnected with her recently—"

"Oh my God!" Demyx pointed a finger at him, laughter bubbling from within his chest. "You _do_ like Namine!"

Roxas' lips peeled back to bark a protest, but soon he sank in his seat, glowering at Demyx. "Shut up."

This was _great! _He had confirmation! Roxas liked Namine and Namine liked Roxas! It was _perfect!_ Demyx could die a happy man…Well, no, he couldn't die _before_ getting the two together—

Oh! Imani was here! He had to tell her the good news!

"Imani!" Demyx took her hand and squeezed all his happiness into it. "Roxas likes Namine!"

She eyed Demyx piteously—why did she pity him? He felt _great!_—with a look that screamed, _You're drunk already? You only had one beer. _

Psh, one? Ten? What difference did it make? He was the Prince of Awesome, the hero in all the love stories in all of Hollow Bastion! _That_ was worth drinking to!

Sighing, Imani pried her hand from his grasp, turned to the blond boy, and arched an eyebrow. "So you're Roxas?"

"Yeah…" he answered cautiously.

She offered a hand—the one she'd pried from Demyx. "I'm Imani. Namine's dorm mate."

He began to nod and smile while taking her hand…but then realization dawned on his paling face. "Ohhhh."

"Your secret's safe with me," she reassured him with a laugh.

Demyx grinned lazily, puffing his chest. Oh, what a friend she was, keeping secrets and only hinting at them with complex-yet-comprehendible glances. (She had learned from the best.) "Bring Roxas another beer for his valiance in admitting his feelings," he charged, waving his hand airily like a king on a throne.

"He's underage."

He blinked, letting his hand drop to his lap. "Oh, right."

Imani rolled her eyes at him before turning back to Roxas. "I'll get you something nonalcoholic. Anything in particular that you want?"

"Something…fruity."

"Tangy or sweet?"

"Tangy." As Imani left with a "Be right back" Roxas looked to Zexion across the table. "What about you? Got a girlfriend?"

"No."

"His work and books are his girlfriends," Demyx explained, promptly launching into a visual complete with flicking wrists and curling fingers and fawning over an invisible book. "Oh, behavioral psychology, I love you! I love y—agh!" A tiny splash of water hit his face mid-visual.

"That was a warning," Zexion murmured plainly.

"Jeez. Killjoy." He wiped his face quickly then looked to the redhead sitting across from him. "So, Axel, what about you?"

His green eyes flicked to meet Demyx's for a split-second before returning to whatever they'd been focused on earlier. "I'm single right now."

Demyx egged him on, eyes narrowing at seeing him distracted. "But is there someone you like?"

A corner of Axel's mouth quirked up. "There is."

He exchanged questioning glances between Zexion and Roxas before craning his neck to search for whatever Axel was looking at. All he could see was the counter where Xigbar was shaking up a drink and Imani was bringing a drink to their table and Axel's eyes traveled as Imani got closer—

Demyx pursed his lips to keep from laughing out loud. Oh ho _ho._ He discovered _two_ pairs of mutual but oblivious lovers! He wasn't even working tonight!

Alas, the Prince of Awesome never got a break…not that he minded. He was just too _good._

"Try this." Imani set a glass of clear pinkish fizzy liquid with a strawberry perched on the grenadine-lined rim. "It's called a Fruit Tingle."

Roxas stirred the drink with his straw before taking a sip. His eyebrows shot up and he hummed satisfactorily. "Pretty good."

"Glad you like it." She grinned. "Anyone else want drinks?"

"Blue Hawaiian!" Demyx's hand shot up.

"Based on what you know about us, bring drinks for Axel and me," Zexion said.

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Really?"

He matched her eyebrow. "Do I ever joke?"

Once she left again with a shrug and an "if you say so", Demyx pounced. "You like Imani?"

He merely chuckled and darted his eyes to Demyx's dorm mate. "Do I, Zexion?"

"Would you like me to quote what he said about her earlier today?" he drawled uninterestedly.

"Nah, no need." Demyx smirked at Axel (who was _still_ watching Imani's every move). "It's written all over your face."

Axel shrugged. "Why hide it? She'll find out anyway."

Demyx settled into his chair, propping his elbows on the armrests and intertwining his fingers before his face. Oh but an interesting situation this was. Here he had two men with feelings for two women who happened to return those feelings. None of them were aware of their respective love interest's feelings…yet. How would the Prince of Awesome win this chess match?

"What the hell? You were practically declaring my feelings left and right when I admitted I liked Namine. Why does _he_ get the silent, devious look?"

Roxas thought Axel was getting it easy? Ohhhh no. Neither of them was exempt from the Prince of Awesome's bring-together-in-the-name-of-love list. Oh no no _no_.

The blond huffed, returning his attention to his drink and muttering darkly, "Never mind."

"Pay him no heed. He's relishing in the thought of soon getting his favorite drink and not having to pay for it."

Demyx glanced at Zexion and shared a smirk. He loved having Zexion for a dorm mate and a best friend. Two years of classes together took them all over the place, but hey, here they were, watching each other's backs.

Hm. Zexion made a good sidekick…Maybe he'd help him—

"A Blue Hawaiian," a neon blue drink was set down before him, "a Vanilla Vargas," Zexion moved his glass of water to make room, "and an Eraqus Mind Trick," Imani announced, placing the last drink in front of Axel.

"Thanks." Axel flashed a grin her way.

He spotted it—the crack in the walls she put up (however many there were) revealing her frantic urge to hide her blush. "Let me know what you think later," she said, dashing off a bit too quickly to appear calm and collected.

"She likes you."

Demyx whipped his head to Zexion. The guy had stolen the words from his mouth! That was all the more proof that he was the perfect candidate to assist the Prince of Awesome in his newly formed quest!

Now all Zexion needed was a cool alias.

"Excuse me?" Axel drew out, arching a thin eyebrow.

What would a good alias for Zexion be…?

He looked at Zexion as he explained to the redhead, "An Eraqus Mind Trick is composed of dark rum, Amaretto, Kahlua, Bailey's Irish Cream, rocky road ice cream, and two cherries to become an intensely burning, sweet, creamy concoction with a slightly bitter aftertaste…correct?"

Axel took a sip, smacked his lips, and let the taste roll around on his tongue. "Yeah. So?"

"Is that not the flavor of love?"

All three of them gaped, their straws falling from their slack jaws. That had to be the _corniest_ thing Demyx had ever heard Zexion say.

"Is it not true?" his dorm mate simply said when Demyx informed him of his corniness. "I don't think the name of the drink does it justice."

Roxas was the first to really recover. He sipped his drink and elbowed Axel. "Looks like you've got a chance."

For the first time tonight, Axel's lips sank into a frown. "I don't know about that. She's pretty cold to me."

"Psh, that's only because she's intimidated by you," Demyx blurted, waving a hand. "You're her role model as far as school goes, plus you've been one of the most slippery guys at HBU as far as relationships go. She probably thinks you only go for girls like Larxene or that you're a player or asexual…or gay. Not that any of that will stop her from liking you."

Axel only sipped his drink as his frown deepened. Roxas glanced at Demyx and Zexion with a slight shake of his head almost as if to say, _It's gonna take more than that to convince him._

Demyx resisted the urge to roll his eyes or pout. He'd only encountered a few pessimists during his job, but he hated having to convince them of anything. Should he wait until he'd discussed his battle tactics with Zexion? Should he recruit help?

Aw, _screw _it. He didn't feel like delaying things tonight. His patience always did thin out quicker when he'd had something to drink. "Here—I'll prove she likes you. Imani!"

That caught the redhead's attention. Axel's brow furrowed and he straightened in his seat. Demyx wasn't quite sure how this would turn out, but hey, he didn't have to get things right the first time.

When she came to a halt next to him, he put on the biggest grin he could muster and nodded to the redhead across from him. "Guess what? Axel likes you, too!"

The four guys at the table held their breaths, watching her carefully. Imani blinked…darted her eyes to Axel…then to Roxas and Zexion…then to Demyx…and said, "Wow. I didn't know you become delusional when you're drunk, Dem."

Delusional? She thought he was delusional? Dammit! He'd forgotten Imani was a pessimist, too! A _stubborn _pessimist!

"I guess this is what Xigbar meant when he said that each drink of alcohol kills a million brain cells," she mused aloud.

Alcohol killed millions of brain cells? So now she was calling him stupid?

"If that's all you wanted to tell me…" she trailed off, walking away with a barely-concealed haha-that-was-a-good-joke smile.

"You were saying, Dem?" Axel deadpanned once she was out of earshot.

He could only chuckle nervously and shrug, his tight smile masking his growl of frustration. Curse you, invisible enemy of love! You and your webs of doubt and seeds of fear would _not_ prevail! Myde the Prince of Awesome would stop at _nothing_ to bring the hopeless pessimistic secret lovers all over the world together with their true loves!

"You're supposed to _sit_ in your chair, Demyx. You'll fall if you keep tottering on it like that—"

With a shout Demyx toppled off his chair, earning snorts and barking laughter from throughout the bar.

* * *

**Author's Afterthought: **I have no creativity when it comes to thinking of wedding cake designs so I had to look them up. The design Aerith tells Cinderella to use is a design by Baker's Man Inc. You can probably find a picture of it if you look up the company. I found the picture online at Wedding Cake Creations. It's _really_ nice and just screamed "AERITH" when I first saw it.

As for the drinks, I had to look those up, too. I've never had any of the drinks mentioned so I had to kind of guess. I modified the name of the drink Axel gets; it's really called a _Jedi_ Mind Trick but I changed it to an _Eraqus_ Mind Trick to fit the _Kingdom Hearts _theme.

And please. Don't mind the corniness. Please.

To **Random KH Fan Girl:** Did you spot your reference? :D

Thanks for reading! Please leave a review!


	11. Enthusiasm, Reluctance, and Solace

**Author's Comments: **Hello! Hope your week's going good. Be sure to stick around for the afterthought of this chapter because **I have a ****question** for you. Enjoy reading!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Kingdom Hearts_, _Final Fantasy VII_, the song _Thank You _by Dido, the term "awesomazing", or any of the dresses mentioned. I own Imani.

* * *

She waited for Aerith to shift her notebook to the side before setting down a mug of steaming coffee on the table for her. "Sounds like yesterday was pretty productive," Tifa remarked, pulling up a chair and wrapping her fingers around the warm ceramic of her own coffee cup. "You found a cake _and_ narrowed down your dresses to three choices."

"It was so hard, though!" Aerith laughed. "Both Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother were so patient with my mother and me—I couldn't thank them enough. You're off tomorrow, right?"

"Yup."

"Good. You can help me make the final decision for the dress. We could even look at some bridesmaid dresses, too."

"What's your color scheme gonna be?"

"Pink, white, and silver. By the way, how's the crane count going?"

Tifa hummed absentmindedly as she calculated in her head. "Larxene made thirty-one, Imani and her friends made a hundred, and Cloud and I just reached a hundred and fifty yesterday. Oh, and Xigbar made six."

Aerith blinked in surprise as she took a sip of coffee. "Wow, that's…two-hundred-eighty-seven cranes in four days! At this rate, we'll reach a thousand by the end of next month!"

She nodded, smiling around the rim of her mug. It was definitely possible. "Cloud will probably end up making the majority of it. When he comes back from a delivery, he sits here and folds cranes while listening to the radio. I think it's relaxing for him." A funny thought passed her mind and she laughed. "He might even start folding cranes during his breaks at the photo shoots he has lined up for the next month, if his pride will allow it."

"When are you going to tell him?"

Her heart skipped a beat. The question caught her off guard but she kept her smiled glued on and tilted her head. "Tell him what?"

"Tifa," she leaned forward over her open books and notepads and magazines and pamphlets, "you know what."

Those emerald eyes punctured the wall around her heart much too easily. With a sigh Tifa set down her mug. "There's no point in bringing up something like that. We're only family. Things would become awkward if I try to push it on him."

"But he deserves to know, doesn't he?" Aerith stated rather than asked.

She swallowed her moan. Of _course_ he deserved to know…but he didn't deserve to carry the heavy burden that came with knowing. "How did you tell him?" she asked Aerith quietly.

Her eyes dropped to her coffee, a faint reminiscent smile tugging at her lips. "We just ended up talking about it one day. At the time, we were both unsure of how we felt about each other so we decided to try being a couple."

Tifa remembered. She saw Aerith and Cloud holding hands one day and her heart broke. They only dated for a month before breaking up as suddenly as they'd gotten together, but that was the longest month Tifa ever went through.

She never did ask why they broke up. She always thought it wasn't her place to ask something so personal.

Aerith continued, "Cloud brought me home after we had dinner at Timeless River. Just as I was about to go inside, he stopped me and began leaning in…" She giggled, shaking her head gently. "I think he was about to kiss me goodnight."

Tifa's brow furrowed. "You think?"

Her giggles grew louder. "He suddenly pulled away and started apologizing profusely. He felt so guilty that he couldn't bring himself to kiss me. The two of us spent at least an hour on my porch steps, talking about us. That's when he confessed that he only saw me as a sister." Tifa watched as Aerith let out a long sigh. "I was so _relieved_. I was beginning to realize that I had feelings for someone else."

"For Zack?"

She nodded. "Cloud told me he realized he had feelings for someone else, too, so we broke up."

As she brought the mug to her lips, Tifa tried to suppress her wonder, but the thought was too tremendous. Cloud had feelings for someone else? Who? Did he still have feelings for that certain someone?

"Ask him. He'll tell you."

Her throat closed up and she brought her mug away, hacking out the liquid that had slipped down the wrong pipe. It was amazing how well Aerith read her. "No he won't," she reasoned between coughs.

"Tifa, you are the closest person to him—closer than Zack and closer than me. Just ask him and he'll tell you." Without giving Tifa the chance to protest, Aerith flipped through one of the magazines. "Look at how pretty this ballroom is…"

* * *

Nothing but the adrenaline that came with the thought of taking on an important mission fueled Demyx as he marched across the street from the dorm to the campus. Zexion eyed him doubtfully the night before when Demyx told him he intended to wake up early this morning to meet with Sora and Kairi, but look at him now! The slate-haired junior's brisk pace was matched—_surpassed_, even—by Demyx's lithe steps.

What a disappointment it was whenever Zexion doubted him…but what delight Demyx felt whenever he proved his dorm mate wrong.

There they were, chatting amongst themselves on the steps leading to the Nomura building. He saw Sora catch sight of them and wave as they approached. "Hey guys," Demyx said, allowing his smile to sharpen into a smirk. "Sorry to have to interrupt your 'alone time.'"

The pair—the _couple_, he amended with pride—blushed simultaneously. "Uh, it's nothing," Sora mumbled as Kairi shook her head fervently. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I'd like to talk undercover work with you two."

Immediately their blushes disappeared and curiosity gleamed in their eyes. "Undercover work?" Kairi repeated.

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, arching an eyebrow. "Either of you interested in helping two childhood friends and two pessimists get together?"

"Are you talking about Roxas and Namine?"

"They're the childhood friends."

"Then who're the pessimists?"

He apologized mentally to his best friend for this slight betrayal of trust in hopes that it would alleviate the guilt dripping down the back of his head. He knew this was for the best. She'd thank him when all was said and done. "Imani and Axel."

They gasped. "What the—"

"So," he quickly cut them off, "you two interested in Operation: Bring Roxas, Axel, Imani, and Namine Together?"

Sora and Kairi exchanged a glance—and wordless messages because best friends slash newly formed boyfriend-girlfriends just _did_ that—and broke out into identically ecstatic grins. "Hell yeah!"

Yesss! He got his accomplices! Operation: BRAIN T was coming along nicely!

"Great!" Demyx cheered. "So before we do anything, I want to get the codenames set."

Those grins grew tenfold. "We get codenames?" Kairi squealed, appearing on the verge of jumping up and down like a little girl who'd been told she was getting the newest doll _plus_ the complete wardrobe _plus_ the miniature mansion.

"Of course! We can't have just _anybody_ knowing what we're up to. You can come up with your own codenames, but tell us what you think of the ones we have for our targets." He turned to his dorm mate and bowed. "If you will, please."

Zexion reached into his pocket and drew out his beloved handheld organizational device slash cell phone—the Lexicon—and began tapping the touch screen to bring up the document that held the codenames. "Namine," he read with mild interest, "is Brandeis Palatinate—"

"B.P. for short," Demyx added.

"—Roxas is Zaffe Persian—"

"Z.P."

"—Imani is the Recorder—"

"Because she's always remembering things."

"—and Axel is the Wildfire."

"Because I heard he used to set things on fire a lot in high school. Well? Whaddya think?"

Sora's hand shot up like a student with a question for the professor. "How'd you come up with Bran-days…uh…"

"Brandeis Palatinate," Zexion provided easily.

"Yeah that. And that other really complicated name."

"Brandeis, palatinate, zaffe, and Persian are all different shades of blue."

Kairi nodded slowly while Sora's brow furrowed. "I hope I can remember all that…" he murmured with a frown.

"We'll be using the codenames often so it'll definitely stick," Demyx reassured him as Zexion pocketed his Lexicon.

"What are your codenames?" Kairi asked.

He jabbed a thumb at his dorm mate. "Zexion's the Cloaked Schemer. Perfect, huh?"

They nodded. "What about you?"

A chuckle slipped past his lips. "Heh, I haven't come up with one yet," he admitted bashfully. "I was too busy coming up with the targets' codenames…"

"Ooh! I know!" Kairi cried. "How about the Prince of Awesome?"

His heart skipped a beat but he forced himself to smile and arch an eyebrow. "How d'ya figure that?"

"People will think we're talking about Myde but we're really talking about you! It'll cause confusion if they try to listen in."

"That's a good idea," Sora put in, smiling brightly.

Demyx nodded slowly, contemplating her reasoning. He supposed the idea was pretty clever, but what if Kairi or Sora made the connection? Well, that wouldn't necessarily be a _bad_ thing, but he liked having his anonymity and separating work from real life…

Well, he was kinda stepping over the line anyway with Operation: BRAIN T, right? He supposed going along with the idea couldn't hurt…

"Class starts in four minutes," Zexion droned.

"Yikes!" Demyx cried, pushing aside his thoughts. "Okay! Homework! Come up with at least two plans to get one or both the couples together! We'll figure out a meeting later—I'll text you or something."

Sora and Kairi saluted. "Roger!"

"Dismissed!"

* * *

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and through the silver tresses that fell into his face again. Unease boiled in his stomach, no matter how tightly he folded his arms across his chest. "Feel better?" he asked after a long stretch of silence that'd only been interrupted by her sobs.

Xion nodded without a word. She stared unseeingly at the grassy park in front of her.

Riku cursed mentally. He felt like he was supposed to say something to her, but he didn't know what. "I'm sorry" would probably be the best thing to say, but really, he didn't feel sorry. He was kind of _glad_ Axel Flynn had admitted he liked someone else to Xion's face…

Well, no, he wasn't too glad at all. Axel didn't know any better, but he broke her heart. Xion brought her hopes up too high and ended up plummeting to the ground in a crumpled, whimpering mess. Riku, being the first friend she'd made in Hollow Bastion, now sat next to her on a park bench with nothing but silence and a shoulder to cry on to offer her.

Jade eyes watched a short jogger and his dog run past. He'd always thought having to sit through a girl's breakdown after being rejected by the person she liked would be pure agony. (Selphie's anguish over Tidus back in middle school was his first and only experience—an experience he didn't _ever_ want to repeat.) With Xion, though, Riku couldn't find it in himself to curse his luck. For some reason, he didn't mind. He _wanted _to listen to her. He wanted to comfort her somehow and tell her everything would be okay.

The only thing he'd curse about the situation was that he didn't know _how_ to comfort her or whether telling her everything would be okay was insensitive.

"What should I do, Riku?" she murmured suddenly.

Great. He still hadn't come up with something to say.

Riku breathed in deeply, dug around in his mind for gentle words, and said, "I think you should put aside thinking about Axel. Maybe…Maybe he isn't the guy for you."

He held his breath, waiting for a reaction. Would she burst into tears again? Would she shoot down his suggestion and declare that she'd follow Axel to the ends of the earth because that was how much she thought she loved him?

She did neither. She only hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe…I might have rushed into things…"

Of course she rushed into things. The first time she saw Axel was less than a week ago and she only started being friends with him less than _half _a week ago. She had guts to go up to Axel Flynn first, sure, but look how hard she fell from those high hopes.

Still, Riku couldn't tell her these things. He couldn't snap at her. He could only sigh and let his bangs hide his guilty face. "Sorry. I suck at this kind of thing."

"No you don't. You're honest and you're listening to me. That's more than I could ever ask for." She turned to him, her puffy eyes crinkling at the corners as she offered a weak smile. "Thanks."

His heart skipped a beat and his stomach flipped—two sensations he hadn't felt in a long, long time. Not since Namine.

"What are friends for?" he replied easily, nudging her shoulder gently.

He couldn't help wondering if this friendship would ever grow into something deeper…but he couldn't get his hopes up. Not yet.

* * *

Her eyes just _refused_ to stay open. The gentle rumbling of Larxene's car coupled with the radio's quiet drone lulled her. She couldn't fall asleep, though. They were less than ten minutes away from Seventh Heaven and her shift started in fifteen minutes…but resting her eyes _couldn't_ hurt, could it…?

"So Maxie."

With great, _great_ difficulty Imani pulled open her eyelids. "Yeah?"

"What do you think about Axel Flynn?"

Suddenly her eyes weren't at all heavy anymore and her heart began pounding and her stomach churned at the thought of the redhead. That smirk burned into her mind like fire. Those green eyes glittered.

She stifled a moan of despair. Nice wake-up call.

"Why?" Imani asked, shooting a glance at Larxene.

"I'll kick you out if you don't tell me," the blond woman told her with a nonchalant shrug.

A frown pulled the corners of her mouth down. The childish reason didn't faze her, but Imani would never forget the first thing she learned about Larxene when she met her—the woman _never _lied.

Well, _Imani_ didn't experience it personally…but Zack did. The poor guy.

"He's…" She sighed. "I don't know. He's okay, I guess."

"That's it?" Larxene arched a thin-waxed eyebrow, shooting her a skeptical look as she slowed to a stop for a red light.

"Well what do _you_ think about him?" Imani fired back.

"I think he's perfect in _every_ way." Larxene shifted in her seat, facing Imani as best she could with the seatbelt on, and smiled in that devilish, smug way of hers. "I really, _really_ like him."

A bullet sliced through her chest. Of _course_ she'd like him. He was exactly her type…and she was probably his type, too. "Oh," she murmured. She fought to keep the walls up, nodding slowly and turning back to the road just as the light turned green.

"That's all you have to say?"

"Is there something I'm _supposed_ to say?"

"Say you'll stay away from him."

The words tore her away from her slump by a few inches. Why would Larxene want her to say something like that? She was so pretty she could have any guy she wanted.

Unless…Larxene saw her as a threat.

She nearly laughed out loud at the idea. "Oh-kay."

"I mean it, Maxie."

"So do I. I'll stay away from him."

Larxene turned into the driveway leading to the back lot behind Seventh Heaven. "Good."

* * *

He pressed the button for line one. "This is Myde the Prince of Awesome. Who's this?"

"Hi Myde. I don't know if you remember me, but this is Onix."

Ack.

"Oh, Onix!" Demyx coated a healthy dose of cheer on his voice as he grimaced. "Yeah I remember you. You're the one I talked to about Axel, right?"

"Right."

Oh man, what would he do if she confessed she was in love with Axel? What if she thought he might have liked her back? What if—

"Well…it turns out that he likes someone else."

Demyx let out a relieved sigh in his head. Thank goodness he didn't have to break it to her! "I'm so sorry to hear that, Onix," he said honestly, peeling away the coat of fake cheer to reveal his guilt. "Are you okay?"

"I will be…"

He could hear it—the desire to linger, to grasp a thread of hope that might not be there—beneath the optimism. If only he could pat her on the shoulder or give her a tight hug and tell her it'd be okay—

"Actually, I wanted to dedicate a song to a friend of mine."

He blinked. He _could_ honor her request, however. "Oh really?"

"Yeah. I just moved here and he's the very first friend I made. We still don't know each other very well, but he's been nothing but amazing to me. He listened to me when I was pouring my heart out about Axel and he didn't judge or look down on me."

"He sounds like a great guy."

Authentic gratefulness echoed in his earphones as she said, "He is."

He let his smile widen. Good for her. With a guy like that at her side, romantically or platonically, Demyx was certain Onix would be fine.

"Well, Onix," he wheeled his swivel chair closer to the computer, "is there any particular song you'd like me to play?"

"Can you play _Thank You_ by Dido?"

Ah, great choice! That was one of his personal favorites. He scrolled down the list of mp3s and clicked on the song. "Done."

"Thanks."

"No prob. If you ever need a listening ear, remember that I'm here, too," he said, "Monday through Saturday, four to ten."

Her laughter warmed his heart. "I appreciate it, Myde."

* * *

A loud crinkly gasp erupted from the laptop speakers. "OOH! I like that one!"

"Really, Yuffie?" Aerith smoothed down the rouched silky material over her stomach as the Fairy Godmother and her assistant (a lanky, mousy-haired man named Jaq) helped even out the skirt of the fourth dress she was trying on. "You like this one, too?"

She could see Yuffie's head nodding fervently on the screen. "Yeah! You look very princessy. You'll fit right in at that hotel you're holding the wedding at."

She laughed under her breath as she studied herself in the multi-faceted mirror before her. The hip and off-the-shoulder neckline of her dress glittered with beads. The laptop sat on a stool in front of the mirror so Yuffie could see the dresses she was trying on. "We're not sure if we're having it at the Castle of Dreams yet."

"Where else are you gonna look?"

"The Destiny Place, Fairy Star, and Enchanted Dominion hotels."

"Psh. Castle of Dreams for the win!"

Aerith, her mother, and Tifa laughed at Yuffie's declaration. "At least let me look at the other places first!"

"I didn't say you couldn't!"

She saw the two people assisting her step back with smiles on their faces. "How does this dress feel, Miss Gainsborough?" the Fairy Godmother asked.

"It fits well," she said, shrugging her shoulders beneath the short lacy cap-sleeves. "Goodness, all of your dresses are gorgeous. I can't decide which one to wear!"

"I vote for this one!" Yuffie chimed. "Either this one or the champagne bohemian strapless one."

"Mother?"

She heard her mother hum thoughtfully and saw her furrow her brow in the mirror. "I like the strapless one with the beaded design on the front…and this one."

Two for the one she wore now, one for the bohemian, and one for the beaded one. "Teef? What do you think?"

Tifa bit her lip…then sighed. "Aerith, you look good in anything."

"But which one do _you_ like?" she laughed and slowly turned on the stool to face her. "Come on, I need your help."

Her wine-colored eyes took in the dress Aerith wore, glanced at the dresses she tried on earlier hanging on the rack nearby, and glanced back at Aerith. "Zack's jaw would drop the fastest if you wore this one," she finally said with a smile.

Everyone laughed. "That's what we're aiming for!" Jaq cried good-naturedly, throwing his hands into the air. "Isn't that right, Miss Gainsborough?"

"Yes." She looked down at herself again, smoothing out her skirt. "I'll wear this one, then."

"Yay!" Yuffie cheered. "I can't wait to see you wearing that dress in person!"

Cold fingers began unbuttoning the back of her dress. "Can we look at your bridesmaid dresses now?" Aerith asked the Fairy Godmother.

The woman flashed her a warm smile. "Of course, dearie. I've got a few dresses that go quite well with this one."

"So what're you gonna go do now?" Yuffie asked behind her as Tifa got up to go to the computer. "You'd better not go eat somewhere good in front of me. I'll get jealous."

"We're going to look at the Fairy Godmother's bridesmaid dresses," Tifa told her.

Aerith let a secret smirk tug her lips and winked at her mother who was trying to hold back her giggles. She knew they were both counting the seconds. Only the rustling of the dress kept the silence at bay until—

"Wait, _what?_ We're wearing dresses, too?"

"What did you think we were wearing? Clown suits?"

"NO FREAKIN' WAY!" Yuffie screeched so loudly the speakers buzzed. "Aerith, do I _have_ to wear a dress?"

Her mother handed the pink dress she came in to her as Aerith stepped off the stool, carefully avoiding the pristine skirt of the wedding dress. "Please, Yuffie?" she pleaded as she crouched next to Tifa before the computer. "Just this once will you wear a dress? For me?"

Yuffie opened her mouth to protest…but seemed to think better of it, closing her mouth and sighing. "Just for you, Aerith, because I love you so much," she grumbled, crossing her arms, and sitting back in her swivel chair with a pout.

"I love you too, Yuffie. You can help choose the dress."

"I'd _better_ have a say!" she huffed while Aerith poked her head through her dress. "I don't wanna wear something I'll trip in! Ugh, it'd be so embarrassing if I tripped in front of Vinnie!"

* * *

"If you keep doing that with your face, it'll get stuck like that."

Immediately Zack wiped the grimace clean from his face, tore his gaze from the glass double-doors of the shop, and shot a glare at Cloud. "Do we _have_ to do this?"

"Aerith won't be happy if you don't," Cloud reminded him despite the lines of mutual distaste etched in his otherwise stoic face.

Slightly comforted by the thought that he wouldn't be alone, Zack grasped the handle of the door and pushed it open.

"Welcome to King of the Night," a blue-haired man with a scar on his face greeted calmly, making his way between racks towards them. "How can I help you?"

As Zack answered the man, he groaned loudly in his head. First he had to make phone calls to Minister Cogsworth to do their vows (the guy almost talked until Zack's ear bled), Mrs. Potts to have her son Chip bear the ring, and the parents of Yuna, Rikku, and Paine to have them walk the aisle as the flower girls. Then he stood in line for half an hour at the post office to mail the invitations (one of which was going to _Axel Flynn_). Now he was gonna have to stand through at least an hour of fitting and color-comparing and crap.

Jeez. The things he did for that woman!

His groaning died as he imagined Aerith walking down the aisle towards him, smiling brightly. What would she be wearing? Would her hair be up or down? Would she be crying more or smiling more?

He found that didn't care. She was perfect…and he was marrying her. He was _marrying _her.

"What are the theme colors for the wedding?" the man—he introduced himself as Saix—asked politely as he lead them towards a large multi-faceted mirror.

"Pink, white, and silver," he told him with a giddy grin. He was getting fitted for his _marriage _to _Aerith._ He was the luckiest guy on the planet.

* * *

"What about Imani?" Yuffie suddenly asked as Tifa disappeared into a changing stall, shutting the door and putting up the hanger on a hook. "She's a bridesmaid, too, right? Shouldn't she be here to look at the dresses?"

"She said to surprise her," Tifa called, unzipping the dark blue maxi dress she tried on.

"Ugh." She heard the girl shudder through the computer. "She's brave."

"Any thoughts yet, Yuffie?" Aerith asked. "Teef's tried on two dresses already."

"I don't like either of them. They're too long."

"But they're pretty, aren't they?"

"Yeah, but only because Teef looks pretty in long dresses. Imani and I will look like dwarves who're trying too hard next to her."

Tifa rolled her eyes, carefully replacing the dress onto the hanger before unhooking the next one—a black strapless, knee-length satin piece with a sweetheart neckline and a flowy skirt. A bow sat in the middle of the torso section with a small jewel in its center. Not bad. Maybe Yuffie would wear this one.

With that hope in mind—she was exhausted just from watching Aerith try on dresses—she slipped into the dress, zipped up the back, and exited the changing room. The computer sat on Aerith's lap facing away from the bride-to-be. Tifa twirled for Yuffie, Aerith, the Fairy Godmother, Jaq, and Mrs. Gainsborough. "Well?"

"This one," Yuffie instantly proclaimed, pointing her finger at the screen. "I'll wear this one."

"Really?" Tifa's eyebrows shot up. "There's still two more dresses to try—"

"No, let's wear this one." Yuffie smirked. "Cloud's jaw would drop the fastest if you wore this one."

She rolled her eyes again and smiled. She'd let Yuffie dream big.

"I like it," Aerith decided with a nod. "It's elegant, chic, and flattering. I'm sure Imani won't mind wearing this, either."

"Then it's settled!" the girl on the laptop screen declared. "Dang, Aerith! You're on a roll! Dresses, invitations, and tuxes all in one day!"

"We're just getting started," she told Yuffie as Tifa retreated back into the changing room. "We're going to look at jewelry today, too."

Tifa smiled as she reached behind her to unzip the dress. Three, two one—

"WHAT? _JEWELRY?_"

* * *

Zack arched an eyebrow at his reflection. Black coat, white collared shirt, black tie, white ascot, black vest, black slacks. His dad said he wanted to give Zack the cufflinks he wore on his wedding day and he had shoes already.

Okay. This should've been good enough, right?

"Will your other groomsmen be coming in to get fitted?" Saix asked behind him as he smoothed out the shoulders of his coat.

"No, but I brought their measurements." He turned from the mirror and dug into the pants pocket of his jeans. "They'll be in town at least a week before the wedding. Will that be enough time to make adjustments if we need to?"

"Of course." Saix took the folded piece of paper from Zack, unfolding it while striding over to Cloud. "How well does it fit, sir?"

Cloud nodded once, eyeing his reflection. "It's good."

Saix glanced at the paper and nodded. "Shall I keep these designs on hold for you until the wedding?" he asked Zack.

"That'd be great. Do I pay you now or later?"

"Whichever suits you best. You can leave the tuxedos on the hangers here and I'll meet you at the cashier to discuss payment methods." With that Saix disappeared to the front of the store.

Zack breathed a sigh of relief. He was _done._

"Who're the other groomsmen?" Cloud asked, loosening his tie and cuffs.

"Vincent and Terra," he said as did his best to take off the tux without shredding it to pieces in his haste. He could only take so much of this changing-clothes-constantly nonsense. "Yuffie's paired with Vincent and Imani's with Terra."

"Does Yuffie know?"

"Nope."

Zack glanced at Cloud and smirked at the ghost of a smile teasing his lips and lighting his eyes. If there was one thing he enjoyed about helping Aerith plan the wedding, it was pairing up the hopelessly oblivious pairs of people who knew everything about the other except the feelings they had for each other. He wasn't really a romantic guy, but he knew how to match-make.

His chest swelled with pride as he unbuttoned his shirt. He could _so_ give that dude from the radio show Imani's always listening to a run for his money.

* * *

**Author's Afterthought: **I lack creativity to think of designs for pretty dresses. The designs described in this chapter came from Kirstie Kelly's Disney-themed wedding collection. All the dresses are gorgeous; it took me several hours to decide which ones to use.

Okay.I was originally planning to make Demyx a neutral singleton throughout this story, but then I realized I didn't like the idea. Demxy should probably have someone to love, too, shouldn't he? He _deserves_ someone to love. My **question** is this: **Who would you like to see Demyx paired up with?** I'd prefer it if you suggest characters who are from _Disney_ or _Final Fantasy_ universes. As an example, one suggestion from **iVanillelay** was to pair Demyx up with Vanille from _Final Fantasy XIII_.

Please give me your suggestions in reviews! Thank you for reading!


	12. Connecting the Dots

**Author's Comments: **Hello! Just a heads-up: I'm starting school very, very soon so I can't guarantee that I'll be able to update my stories in as timely a fashion as I have been for the past...I don't know...year? I'll do my best to bring you the best chapters I can. Hope you enjoy reading!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Kingdom Hearts; Final Fantasy VII; _the movie _The Sorcerer's Apprentice; _the song and italicized lyrics from _Poison_ by Bell Biv Divoe; the book _The __Girl with the Dragon Tattoo _by Stieg Larsson; the song _I'll Never Fall in Love Again_ by Dionne Warwick; or Skype. I own Imani.

* * *

Kairi peeked at Namine from the corner of her eye and bit her lip. Her cousin looked so _focused_, squinting her eyes and moving her pencil across the paper to effortlessly sketch the empty bowl sitting before them. Sticky guilt oozed all over her conscience for wanting to interrupt her…but it was important that she interrupted! She had to! A slight distraction couldn't possibly damage her drawing, especially when—

"Taking a break, Kairi?"

She flinched at Namine's sudden question. "Y-Yeah. My eyes are starting to hurt."

Namine hummed with a smile. "How're things going with Sora?"

"Good. We ate dinner together last night."

"Did you get to talk to him about your relationship?"

"Yeah. We're gonna take things slow since we've been so close our entire lives. Test the waters and all that."

"That's good."

Kairi ducked her head to hide her frown. She wasn't supposed to be talking about Sora. Agent Kay had a job to do! She was supposed to initiate phase one of the B.P. leg!

She took a breath then forced the words from her mouth: "You know what I've been wanting to do for a while now? See that movie that just came out."

"Which one?"

"_The Sorcerer's Apprentice._"

Instantly Namine's eyes tore from the paper and locked with hers. "I've been wanting to see that, too!" she nearly squealed.

"We should go see it this weekend!" Kairi proposed. "Sora wants to see it, too, and we can invite Roxas."

A faint blush sprung onto Namine's cheeks. She averted her gaze, twirling her pencil between her fingers. "That's a good idea. He mentioned wanting to see that movie…"

"Sweet! Next time you see him, tell him we're going to see it on Friday."

"O-Okay."

As she looked back at the empty bowl they were supposed to be drawing, Kairi did a victory dance in her head. Phase one was complete!

* * *

Sora had absolutely no shame in admitting he'd frequented Divine Rose Salon quite often during the nineteen years he'd lived in Hollow Bastion. He was sitting in a swivel chair next to Kairi and chatting with the manicurist as his best friend got her nails done for the first time. He knew every staff worker's name, where their kids went to school, and what their favorite Wutaian takeout dish was. Luxord sometimes let him get a free hand massage from one of the manicurists when he complained about writing cramps.

Did anyone think he was gay for visiting a salon so often? There was the occasional speculator…but the speculations never lasted long. Riku and Kairi made good work of that.

But Sora digressed. He wasn't visiting the salon to gossip or get a hand massage. He had a mission.

Roxas' eyebrows shot up when Sora pushed open the glass doors and bounced in happily. "Hey, Sora. What brings you here?"

"Hey." He stuffed the hand not carrying his textbooks into his pants pocket. "I was gonna surprise Kairi with some new nail polish. She says she's running out."

That was _not_ a lie. Agent Ess was multitasking. And he was doing it very well.

A smile grew on the blond's face. "That's pretty cool of you. Here, lemme show you what we've got." He stepped out from behind the marble counter and strode to the other side of the lobby area where a shelf of nail polish bottles sat against a wall. "Any particular color she likes?"

"Lately she's been into maroon. She says it's the hottest color for the fall or something like that."

Okay, _that_ might've been a lie. He was partially curious to see what Kairi with maroon nails would look like. They'd kinda match her hair, right? And it wasn't like Kairi was against trying new things—oh, far from it!

"Maybe she'll like this one, then."

Sora studied the tiny bottle Roxas picked from the shelf for him. Eh. Kairi liked all nail polishes, even the wacky colors like…pumpkin orange or tin foil silver…maybe. She looked good with anything so whatever.

"Yeah, I think she will," he decided, after pretending to consider the color for a moment. "I'll get this one."

Roxas nodded, taking back the bottle. "Cool. I'll ring you up for it."

When they arrived at the counter again, Sora breathed in deeply, clearing his head and arranging the words mentally. The moment had come. He had to instigate his part of the mission.

"Actually, Roxas," he began as the blond read the barcode of the nail polish bottle with the scanner, "I wanted to talk to you about Namine."

"Beep" went the computer and Roxas typed something. "Namine? What about her?"

"Do you like her?"

A pause. The price for the nail polish popped up on the screen connected to the cashier. "What if I do?" Roxas cautiously asked.

Good. He wasn't denying it. Sora fished out his wallet and held out a bill, his muscles relaxing with the confidence he got from Roxas' vague reply. "Then I'd help you get together with her, obviously."

Roxas' fingers froze a millimeter from pinching the bill. He blinked wide-eyed at him. "You would?"

"Yeah!" he answered honestly with a bright, wall-demolishing smile. "I think you and Nam would be great together."

The guy looked lost in a daze for a moment…but soon, he took the offered bill with a small smile. "Thanks, Sora."

"I take it that's a yes?" he asked, arching an eyebrow and leaning forward conspiratorially.

Roxas' face flushed as he handed over Sora's change and receipt. "I like her," he blurted. "A lot. More than I remember ever liking a girl I haven't seen in years."

Yes-s-s. Trust implanted. Confession drawn out. Agent Ess' transformation into target's ally was complete. He mentally punched his fist into the air triumphantly.

"I got your back, Roxas," he assured him.

As he handed him a small plastic bag with the nail polish in it, his smile widened. "Thanks."

"No, thank _you._ I'll see you around, 'kay?" He strode out of the salon, squinted his eyes in the midday sun, and waited until he reached the end of the block before pulling out his cell phone and speed-dialing Kairi.

* * *

"Yuffie signed off from Skype the moment I mentioned jewelry," Aerith laughed, stabbing at her salad. "She only waited around until Mother was picked up from the shop by Father. I tried telling her I wouldn't make her wear anything extravagant but she wouldn't listen."

Cloud chomped on his burger. Not a single drop of surprise slithered down his back and forced him to straighten in his seat. Yuffie despised all things formal and/or uptight, especially events that she _had_ to attend and _had_ to dress appropriately for. It irked her to no end, as he recalled from a fond memory of getting a picture message on his phone of her burning the prom dress her friends forced her to buy. He nearly snorted out loud in the middle of the lecture he was supposed to be listening to.

"What were you planning to make her wear?" Zack asked between sips of his soda.

"I don't know. A pair of studs would look nice with the dress, don't you think?" Aerith asked Tifa, earning a nod. "And a bracelet, maybe?"

Her long dark hair fluttered around her flawless face as she nodded again. "Yeah. Yuffie can handle that."

Cloud found himself mesmerized at how those strands waved and fell into place perfectly without Tifa trying.

"That's exactly what I think…" Her green eyes widened and her lips puckered into a round ring as her shoulders began to sink. "Oh, but I didn't even mention makeup or hair…"

The blond man's ears itched as he imagined Yuffie's shriek of indignation.

"Eh." Zack shrugged, leaning back and laying an arm across the back of Aerith's chair. "She'll do what you tell her."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Vincent Valentine."

Cloud hid the smirk growing on his face behind his half-eaten burger. The air sang with Tifa's laughter and he waited until his smile shrank until taking another bite. Breathe in, breathe out. Bite. Breathe and chew at the same time.

"Anyway," Aerith said after laughing along, "Tifa and I were going to shop for jewelry after this. Do you two want to join us?"

"Can't," Zack immediately replied, flashing a not-so-sorry grin at his fiancé. "Gotta get back to the bar to open up."

"You don't work for another—" she brings out her cell phone and flips it open, "—two hours. It won't take _that_ long to find something."

Cloud met Zack's skeptical glance and arched an eyebrow. That was what they _always_ said. Women who shopped didn't understand how excruciating it was for a man to watch an hour or four creep by before his eyes.

"You're not busy, are you, Cloud?"

He looked to Aerith—sweet, innocent Aerith who was staring at him expectantly. She didn't know he was free for the rest of the day. She didn't know he was going to go home, take a shower, and listen to that mix CD Demyx made for him (while folding paper cranes) after they were done eating here. She didn't have to know. He could tell her he had a package waiting with Cid or that Fenrir's motor was getting jammed up and that he had to go to Cid's anyway to get it fixed—

But then he made the mistake of glancing at Tifa…and cursed. Damn those pretty eyes of hers. He couldn't lie to them.

"No," he muttered reluctantly after swallowing his bite.

Tifa brightened, that beautiful smile of hers gracing her face. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.

"Great!" Aerith exclaimed, shooting Zack a pointed look. "We're _all_ going to check out that place down the street first since it's the closest."

Cloud ignored the way Zack pouted. The guy was getting married. He'd have to get used to stuff like this, anyway.

* * *

A sigh interrupted the silence in the library. "You're folding it incorrectly."

"Dammit," Demyx growled, his fingers itching to crush the torn, crumpled paper in his hand and chuck it over his shoulder. "Why'd I agree to do this?"

"Because Imani asked you to," Zexion droned next to him, tucking in a pointy end of the paper to make the head before dropping it into the bag sitting on the table. "And because you claimed to have nothing better to do until you start work in approximately an hour and forty-five minutes."

Gah, he _knew_ honesty was not the answer to everything. Look where it got him! Instead of paving the roads towards happiness, the Prince of Awesome was stuck folding cranes for his best friend's cousin's wedding in three months. There was seriously something wrong with this picture. Seriously.

"I'm taking a break." Demyx threw the messed up paper _thing_ down, reaching across the table to snatch the bag of completed, un-puffed cranes. "How many did we make, anyway?"

"Count," Riku muttered absentmindedly.

Dumping the contents onto a clear space, he began counting down under his breath while tossing the cranes back into the bag, instantly spotting the perfect un-wrinkled little birds Zexion made, the occasional unevenly-folded bird Riku managed, and the ugly-duckling-doomed-to-remain-ugly birds he tried to make. He hoped Aerith wouldn't mind too much. It was the thought that counted, right? At least they made fifty-three in the last hour.

"So. Riku."

His ears perked at the strange—devious, perhaps?—tone lacing his dorm mate's voice but he didn't lift his eyes to glance at either of the guys folding cranes. "What?" he heard Riku ask.

"I believe now would be the ideal time to inform the relationship guru of your group of friends just exactly who has captured your attention these past few weeks."

_Now_ he lifted his eyes, widening them at Zexion's too-casual statement.

Riku paused in the middle of folding a crease to narrow his eyes at Zexion. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Fifty-three completed cranes leapt into the air as Demyx knocked over the bag and leaned over the table to shove his face before the silver-haired boy. "Riku! What's this? You found someone?"

Jade eyes narrowed further into thin slits before he looked away to concentrate on folding the paper square in his hand. "No."

"Elaborate the relationship you have with Miss Xion, then."

He heard Riku growl in his throat. "Xion?" Demyx repeated, whipping his head back and forth from Zexion to Riku. "Who's Xion?"

"She's…" Riku sighed, raking a hand through his hair. "She's just this girl who always hangs out here_._"

"Puzzling words coming from the one who spends every free moment while working here with her," Zexion countered.

Demyx gasped audibly. He felt his awesomazingness senses tingling! Could this be? Could the Prince of Awesome and the Cloaked Schemer have stumbled upon _another_ case of unknown love? He _had_ to know for sure!

"Reeeeeee-kooooooo!" Demyx whined as a hand (Zexion's, probably) firmly pulled him back into his seat. "What's going on? Tell us! Ple-e-e-ease? We won't tell anyone! Promise!"

"_You'll_ tell Imani," he hissed to Demyx before averting his gaze to glare at Zexion, "and _you'll_ blackmail me with this later."

"I won't! Even if I did, she wouldn't tell anyone! You know that."

"You take me for a manipulative, coldhearted bastard? I'm offended."

"What's going on?"

Demyx whipped his head to the new voice…only it didn't sound entirely new. It sounded a little familiar…but he digressed. A girl with short dark hair and blue eyes blinked at them, her hands filled with paper cranes. "What're you guys talking about?" she asked.

"Nothing," Riku said, the sharp edges smoothed out in his voice. He darted his eyes to Demyx with an easy smile. "Demyx, this is Xion. Xion, Demyx."

"Nice to meet you." She smiled, righting the bag and letting the cranes in her hands fall inside.

So _this_ was Xion…but who was she exactly? What was she to Riku? Why wouldn't Zexion give Riku a break?

"Oh!" He snapped out of his thoughts when he saw her crouch down to pick up more cranes and instantly dove to help her. "Sorry! You didn't have to pick these up."

"They're too pretty to get trampled on," she said. "What're they for?"

"My best friend's cousin's wedding."

"Wow. You three made all these?"

"Yup!" He smiled at her. She was pretty nice. And pretty. And her eyes reminded him a little of Namine. Which explained a lot. But not enough. But Riku wouldn't say anything about her…

He supposed he'd need to figure out as much as he could on his own for now. With that resolution in mind, he straightened in his seat and nodded to the chair across from him and next to Riku. "Wanna help?"

Xion's smile brightened. "Sure."

* * *

_Phase one of B.P. leg complete._

_ I've earned the trust of Z.P._

_ Good work. Now we wait for B.P. and Z.P. to interact on their own. Spying shouldn't be necessary so lay low for now._

_ Roger._

_ Yessir._

He flipped his phone shut with a loud clack. A long hum rumbled in his throat as he debated whether to bring up Riku and Xion with Agents Kay and Ess. The Cloaked Schemer definitely sensed the same thing he did—Riku treated the girl differently than Kairi or Imani. He treated Xion almost like he treated Namine a few years ago.

But was it too soon? He'd only met Xion a few hours ago. He had no idea someone like Xion existed in Riku's life until today…but wasn't that what made the whole situation different for Riku? Sure, Riku didn't share _everything_ with Demyx, but he didn't make much of an effort to _hide _anything, either…not unless he felt it was personal.

Dang it! The commercials were done.

"You're listening to the Elixir on Arpeggio 101.3," he sang into the mic while skimming through his mp3 list. "I'm Myde the Prince of Awesome bringing you the best mix of yesterday and today to keep you awake and focused on your drive home or in the last hours of your workday. Don't fall asleep on me now! Here's _Poison_ by Bell Biv Divoe."

The drumbeats thundered in his ears and he felt his desire to tell his accomplices what he discovered today pumping louder and faster…but the questions running through his head echoed above the noise. If Riku had only met Xion a few weeks ago, then he must not have known her very well. What if he was drawn to her because of the way she looked a lot like Namine? What if he wanted to test the waters with her and see how she compared to Namine? What if he hadn't really gotten over Namine and was using—well, not _using_…more like…_depending on_—this new friendship he had with Xion to make something of his feelings?

He grimaced with a sigh. It was way too soon. He'd have to watch them a little more to determine anything.

He threw his head back and sang along with the song: _"It's driving me out of my mind…"_

_

* * *

_

"I've been wondering…"

Xion's hand froze in the middle of its journey to pluck out _The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo _from the shelf and she tilted her head to meet Riku's eyes. "About what?"

He arched an eyebrow beneath those silver bangs hanging in his face. "Are you skipping school?"

"No."

"But it's ten in the morning."

Her hand finished pulling the book out and she turned to him fully. "I'm homeschooled."

Both eyebrows shot up. "Oh," Riku said as he wedged a book into the shelf with one hand.

"Yeah. My parents want me to become _responsible_ and _independent_ so instead of enrolling me at Hollow Bastion High, they signed me up for online classes." She sighed, hugging the book to her chest. "It's lame."

He grimaced, chuckling incredulously under his breath. "I can imagine. Senior year is the best year to be in high school. A _real_ high school."

So Xion had heard—reaching the top of the social ladder, hanging out with friends every single day, ruling school events…Apparently her parents didn't think the same. She sighed again.

"Are you free on November eleventh?"

Riku's sudden question tore her from her grim thoughts. "Why?"

"I got invited to my friend's cousin's wedding and I'm allowed to bring a guest," he told her, moving past her and further into the aisle between shelves.

"And you're asking _me_ to go with you?" she asked, following him.

"Yeah."

"Why me?"

"Why not you?"

She opened her mouth to reply…but decided not to. Telling him he could have his pick of the prettiest girls at HBU would boost his ego and send her into a "Thanks for admitting _again_ that I'm hot and irresistible" fiasco, complete with the smug smirk and the glittering eyes.

After stuffing the next book into the shelf, he glanced at her. "Look, you don't get a prom, do you?"

"No."

"So come with me to the wedding. It'll be the closest thing to a prom you'll experience."

"That's why you're asking me?" Xion's brow furrowed and she tilted her head, trying to make the reasoning fall into place amidst the confusion tugging at her brain.

Riku sighed quietly, turned to face her, bent down to her level, and slowly said, "Xion, I want you to come with me to my friend's cousin's wedding. It's that simple." He brought a hand to her face…and flicked her forehead. "Stop overcomplicating things."

Xion let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding and rubbed her sore forehead. She wasn't _overcomplicating_ things. She simply didn't understand why he'd ask her to go with him…and even if the whole not-having-a-prom thing was part of it, she didn't understand why he'd even consider wanting to give her this experience. For some reason she couldn't comprehend, Riku—the guy who worked at HBU's amazing library, who _knew _she wasn't an HBU student yet let her come every day to read, and who sucked her into this strange, welcoming friendship a week ago—wanted to go to his friend's cousin's wedding with _her._

"Will you go with me?" he whispered.

Riku was a complete mystery…but maybe that was what made him a pretty cool friend. Maybe that was why he'd become the closest friend she had in Hollow Bastion—no, not just in Hollow Bastion. He'd become her closest friend _ever_ in one week.

She shrugged one shoulder and curved her lips into a hesitant smile. "S-Sure."

He beamed—wow, he had a really nice smile—and straightened up. "Great. I'll let you know more about it later."

Her smile widened. Oh well. Who was she to complain or speculate? She supposed she'd learn more about him as they became better friends. She'd only met him a week ago.

"So which friend is this?" she asked, trailing after him as he moved down the shelf to stuff more books in.

The muscles in his arm tightened as it halted in the middle of widening a space between two books. "You haven't met her yet, but uh…"

"What?"

He flicked jade, wary eyes to her. "Axel mentioned her that last time…"

Her heart skipped a beat at the mention of the name and froze over when she remembered the last conversation she had with the redhead. "Imani?" she whispered, the name twisting her tongue peculiarly and leaving a strange aftertaste in her mouth.

"That's her," he said with a nod. "Her cousin and her professor are getting married."

"O-Oh" was all she could say. That meant she'd see the girl Axel liked at the wedding…and if the professor was the one Imani shared with Axel, then Axel might be at the wedding, too…Her chest ached at the thought of seeing the two of them together in the same place.

"It's okay if you don't want to go anymore."

She jumped at Riku's soft voice. "No, that's not it," she lied, plastering a smile to her face. "I'll go."

Those eyes of his bore into her so intensely she had to drop her gaze to the floor. "How're you doing?" he asked.

She knew he wasn't asking in general and something in his voice told her she couldn't get off easily by lying. "Better, I guess. I still think about him sometimes…especially about that conversation." Her chest inflated painfully as she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "But I'm glad I got confirmation so early on. It saved me a lot of trouble…"

"But?" he prompted.

"But…I hope that never happens again."

"It couldn't be helped."

"I can do something to prevent it at least, right?"

"Like what?"

"Like…I'll never fall that quickly next time…if there is a next time. I hope there isn't a next time." She hugged the book even closer, determination coursing through her veins. "You know what? I'll make sure there isn't a next time. I'll never fall again."

"Like the song."

She finally looked up at him again. "What song?"

"_I'll Never Fall in Love Again_ by Dionne Warwick. It's an old song. My mom used to play it all the time when I was a kid." He shrugged, arching an eyebrow at her. "But anyway, good luck trying to do that. Falling for someone isn't something you can control."

"Wise words, Riku."

She peered around Riku and found Zexion standing with his arms crossed, shooting a strange look at him. Riku stiffened visibly.

"I understand that you have much to talk about with Miss Xion," Zexion began, "but there's no time to dilly-dally. A whole cart of books needs to be re-shelved."

Riku mumbled a bitter "Talk to you later" to her before dragging his feet out of the aisle and disappearing around a corner. That skeptical look he gave her only added fuel to her fire. She was sure she could pull it off. All she had to do was put up her guard and keep herself in check when she was around someone who could possibly make her fall. It couldn't be _that_ hard.

As she headed off to sit at her usual table, she ran the title of the song through her head, promising herself to call in a request later that day to listen to the song.

* * *

He stepped out of the way as she set down containers on the counter next to the stove. "What're we gonna make, Kairi?" Sora asked curiously.

"We're gonna try this recipe for spicy chicken sub sandwiches," she said.

"Sounds good!" He smiled, putting the two long paper packages with Morning Star Bakery's logo tattooed on it. "That's why we've got these, right?"

She nodded, her own smile widening with relief. He seemed quite happy with the recipe she chose. "Yup. I marinated the chicken last night so all we have to do is grill it—well, _fry_ it, since we don't have a grill—then put it in the subs and top it with giardiniera and shredded lettuce."

"Okay! That should be easy enough." He stooped to grab a frying pan from one of the bottom shelves. "How high should the heat be?"

"It says…" She unfolded the printed recipe, scanned the directions, and frowned. "Huh. It doesn't say. I guess medium-high? We can always change it later if it gets too hot or not hot enough."

"Okay." His spiky head nodded as he put the frying pan on the stove and kicked the bottom shelf closed, turning the dial to start up the heat. "Your dorm kitchen is nice."

She leaned a hip against the counter and peeled open the plastic container holding the chicken chunks. "How's yours?"

"It's kinda the same as this," he held a hand over the pan a few inches to measure the heat, "only I think your stove heats up faster."

"You've used the stove in your dorm?"

"No, but Goofy has."

"What?" she cried. "_Goofy cooks?_"

"He makes a _mean_ short stack," he said of one of his dorm mates. "I'm always fighting with Donald for the last pancake."

She tried imagining the lanky…well, _goofy_ humanities major flipping pancakes with an apron on as Sora and his other dorm mate—a short-tempered loud-mouthed biology major who _squawked_ when he got angry—engaged in sword fights with forks and knives…and laughed. Sora's face would be covered with crumbs and sticky syrup. Cute!

"I think it's hot enough," his voice said.

"Okay," she said between laughs, handing Sora the open container. Now we fry the chicken chunks."

The pan sizzled as he poured in the chicken and the marinade, jiggling the frying pan a little. Her mouth watered at the sound and smells filling the kitchen.

"It smells so good!" Sora moaned when his stomach growled, stepping away with his hands raised. "I can't stand here without wanting to shovel the entire thing into my mouth!"

"Do you want to cut the subs in half while I keep an eye on this?" she suggested, taking hold of the pan's handle.

He agreed to the suggestion, taking a knife and pulling out one of the submarine loaves. Kairi smiled fondly as she watched him stick out his tongue in concentration and hold the knife's blade in place. She almost forgot to keep checking the chicken—

"Agh!"

She tore her eyes from the pan and gasped when she saw Sora scrutinizing his finger with a frown. "Are you okay?" she asked, tiptoeing to peer at the blood trickling from his thumb.

"Yeah." He flashed a dazzling smile at her. "It's just a cut."

Grabbing his wrist, she led him to the sink, ducking her head to hide her blush. "Here," she said, turning the water on and sticking his hand underneath. "Wash it with soap and keep it under there until it stops bleeding. I'll go look for a first-aid kit."

Where would the first-aid kid be? She searched the drawers and the closets until she found a small plastic container with the universal red cross symbol on its cover. Snatching the container, she headed back to Sora just as he turned the water off and lifted his hand to narrow his eyes at the slit on his thumb.

"Okay." She opened the container and picked out a band-aid, peeling the paper coverings away and lowering his thumb after he dried it so she could position the band-aid. She pressed down one of the stick flaps and started wrapping the bandage around his thumb. "Is this too tight?"

"Nope."

Her heart fluttered when she felt his warm breath blow across her cheek. She quickly finished wrapping his thumb and smiled up at him, stamping down her blush. "There you go."

Sora smiled, swooped in, and planted a chaste kiss on her lips. "Thanks."

Her lips seared and all she could do was stare at him. All thoughts of hiding her blush or trying to slow down her racing heart or _breathing_ escaped her. His happy blue eyes drowned her, widening immensely and—

"Sorry!" he cried, leaping back and ducking his head. "Was that too weird?"

Was _what_ too weird…? Oh! The kiss! "N-No!" she squeaked. "No it wasn't!"

"Sorry! I won't do it again if you don't want me to!"

"No! It's fine! It's fine!" _It was _more_ than fine,_ she almost told him, but then her blush blazed hotter than ever, creeping down her neck.

His eyes darted away as he reached up to scratch the back of his head sheepishly. "It's just…Heh, never mind."

"What is it?"

"No, it's embarrassing." His spikes swayed furiously as he shook his head.

"You can tell me," she coaxed, taking a step forward.

Sora bit his lip and hummed as he deliberated…before sighing. "Remember when I scraped my knee really badly after that blitzball game against Traverse Town High?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Remember how you bandaged me up then, too?"

She nodded again.

"I…gah, it's _embarrassing…_but I wanted…" He took a deep, audible breath and spat out, "I wanted to kiss you after you finished."

The words startled—and pleased—her, speeding up her heart all over again. "But that game was when we were freshmen."

"That wasn't the only time I wanted to kiss you after you helped clean my injuries…"

Oh, how she felt like she was standing in an oven! When did it get so _hot_ in here? She had no idea what to say to that…other than admitting she'd wanted to kiss him so badly since middle school but that'd worsen her blush.

His blue eyes inched up to meet hers. "Is it…okay if I kiss you more often?"

Did he even have to freaking ask?

She closed the distance between them, tiptoeing to kiss him. "Of course it is," she practically shouted when she drew away.

He beamed and kissed her. "Okay."

She kissed him back. "Okay."

Kiss. "Okay."

Kiss. "Okay."

Ki—

"Ack! The chicken's burning!"

* * *

**Author's Afterthought: **Sorry for the late update! Hope you enjoyed reading. Please leave a review!

Oh! As for the Demyx pairing, I've had several more suggestions come in...  
-Ariel from _The Little Mermaid_ (as a fling?)  
-One of Ariel's sisters  
-Elena from _Final Fantasy VII  
-Rikku, Yuna, or Paine, and  
-Vanille from Final Fantasy XIII _

What do you think? Let me know, please! Thanks for reading!


	13. Inching Closer

**Author's Comments: **Hello! It's been a while...or has it? I can't remember when I last updated this. The days have been blurring into each other for me lately. I hope I haven't made you wait too long, though. Please enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Kingdom Hearts; _the italicized lyrics to the song _Billionaire_ (by Travie McCoy featuring Bruno Mars); the songs _I'll Never Fall in Love Again _(by Dionne Warwick), _American Boy _(by Estelle featuring Kanye West), or _Live Like We're Dying _(by Kris Allen); or the movies _Inception _or _The Sorcerer's Apprentice_. I own Imani.

* * *

_"A different city every night! Oh I, I swear the world better prepare—"_

Demyx jerked his head up and halted in the middle of singing when the ringing of a phone blared in his ears. His eyes darted to the blinking light of line one and he pressed the button. "Hello? Myde the Prince of Awesome speaking."

"Hey Myde. This is Onix."

"Onix! Hi!" He leaned back in his chair again, digging his heel into the seat and propping the mic on his knee. "You're becoming a regular caller, aren't ya?"

She laughed. "I guess so, huh?"

"What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to hear a certain song."

"Okay. Which one?"

"_I'll Never Fall in Love Again_ by Dionne Warwick."

His eyebrows shot up but he reached for the mouse to scroll his mp3s. "Wow, that's an oldie!"

"Yeah. I heard about the song from my friend and I got curious."

Ah! Found it. He dragged the song to play after _Live Like We're Dying._ "Is this the same friend you dedicated a song to last time?"

"Yup."

Her misery-tinged voice rang in his head as he remembered the last conversation they had. "How're you doing, by the way?" he asked.

"Okay, I guess," she said. "I'm slowly getting over it."

He could hear it—the acceptance and the will to move on. He smiled. Maybe it was for the best for her right now. "That's good to hear. Well, I'll play the song for you."

"Thanks, Myde."

"No problem. I'll talk to you later, okay?" He hung up and settled into his chair. Onix sounded like a really nice girl. He hoped she'd find the one she was meant to be with. Maybe the one was standing right next to her and she didn't know it. He couldn't say for sure, though. He didn't know Onix personally…

At least, he didn't _think_ he did…but then again, her voice sounded pretty familiar.

He furrowed his brow as an infomercial for some sort of gym membership went on. Where could he have heard a voice like Onix's before? It was soft and almost childish…Gah, she didn't sound like anyone in his classes or any of his friends but her voice still made his ears itch with familiarity…Could she be a friend of a friend?

Hm. That made sense. A friend of a friend…a friend of a friend…a friend…of a…frien—

Le GASP! Riku's friend Xion!

He slapped his cheeks and nearly screamed. Onix sounded exactly like Xion! Onix _was_ Xion! That explained the Axel thing! Could the friend she'd been talking to him about be Riku? What if he was? Oh, what did she tell him about that friend of hers—

"Demyx! You're on!"

He flinched out of his thoughts when his producer hissed at him. "You're listening to the Elixir on Arpeggio 101.3," he quickly said, flashing an apologetic smile at his boss. "We got a request for this next song—_I'll Never Fall in Love Again_ by Dionne Warwick. A classic!"

* * *

"Imani."

She glanced up from her crane and arched an eyebrow at Cloud as he entered the kitchen, holding out a hand to still the swinging door before stepping to her side quickly with a strange look on his face. His eyes appeared clouded—pfft, _clouded_—with…worry?

"Tifa won't stop drinking," he murmured.

Her heart stopped. She repeated those four words in her head over and over again. "W…What?" she sputtered.

He shook his head and ran a jittery hand through his spikes. "I don't know what to do. She just keeps drinking and drinking and she won't tell me why…"

Oh no. Had she caved? Was she finally feeling the effects of her bottled-up emotions toward Cloud? What if she got so drunk and overwhelmed with her emotions that she did something really, really bad? What if she wrecked the bar? What if the customers got scared off and decided never to come back again? _What if Seventh Heaven shut down from bad business?_

Hell no. That could _not _happen. Imani leapt from her seat, ran past the nervous Cloud, and barreled through the swinging door. "Ti—"

She froze. Tifa stood straight—_not_ wobbly—wiping down a glass—_not_ cradling a bottle of alcohol. Her cousin's hair fanned behind her as she whipped her head to look at her with a smile. "Need something, Imani?"

Imani blinked. And blinked again. She…_wasn't_ drinking? Cloud _lied_ to her? But why? He never found a reason to lie about anything.

"Look who came by to have a drink," Tifa said, nodding her head to the customer sitting across from her on the other side of the counter.

She looked…and bit her tongue to keep from jumping at the sudden burst of energy her heart had. Her lips curled into a stiff smile. "Hello, Axel."

Cloud. That lying son of a bitch.

"Hey." The redhead grinned and waved.

"Since you're out here, Imani, can you watch the bar for a few minutes?" Tifa smiled sweetly at her, setting down the glass and striding toward her and taking hold of her shoulder. "I need to go get more whisky and scotch."

Oh ho ho, it _all_ made sense now. Tifa and Cloud cooked up this little plot to get her to come out of the kitchen because Axel was here. Dammit! She should've known Cloud had to be fairly experienced with acting—part of modeling involved adopting a certain character. If his willingness to bring his modeling work outside a photo shoot setting for Tifa didn't prove he loved her, Imani didn't know what would.

She tried backing out of her cousin's really, _really_ firm grip. "I'll go get it for you."

"No I'll get it." She shook her head, her nails digging into Imani's shoulder. "That way you and Axel can chat."

Chat? _Chat? _She thought Imani wanted to _chat_ with _Axel?_ There was a _reason_ she hid in the kitchen when she wasn't needed in the bar!

"I'll be right back," Tifa sang, striding past her and pushing her gently towards the redhead (read: dragging her to the stool next to Axel and forcing her to sit down).

Her heartbeat thundered in her ears as she propped her feet on the bar below the stool and scooted back so her knees wouldn't touch his leg. She could feel his gaze burning her face and steeled herself before looking up from her lap to meet it.

"So…how's freshman year going for you so far?" Axel asked casually, sipping his scotch.

"Okay, I guess." She shrugged. "How's…graduate school going for you?"

"It's been pretty crazy so far."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Professor Gainsborough's taking some time off from HBMC to plan the wedding, right? Most of her responsibilities are being passed to this other doctor, but the doctor is passing some of it to me, too. I mean, I don't mind helping out. It's just a lot of work."

She could only hum and nod. Jeez. She couldn't keep her eyes on him for more than five seconds without having to glance away. He was just too…what was the word…handsome? Striking? Attractive? _Hot? _Grr. He was everything. He was too much for her to take in. Just sitting here this close to him was making her nerves spasm and her fingers twitch and her insides churn and her heart _freak_ _out_—

"Is there a reason you act so guarded in front of me?"

She barely caught her flinch before it started running up her spine. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

He downed the last of his drink and arched an eyebrow at her. "Is there something about me that makes you uncomfortable?"

Everything! Everything about him made her uncomfortable! His glittering green eyes that burned into whenever he looked at her, his wild incredibly-soft-looking red spikes that made her want to reach up and brush her fingers through a few to see if they really _were _soft, his smooth silky voice that slithered into her ears and wrapped around her limbs in ribbons, his carefree confident demeanor that picked apart her sanity thread by thread…

This really _sucked._ Where the hell was Tifa? It couldn't have taken her _this_ long to find some stupid whisky and stupid scotch.

She knew for certain someone was spiting her when Axel leaned towards her, his face halting inches from hers. "I don't like seeing you act tense around me," he murmured. "I won't bite…not unless you want me to."

Heat crept onto her face but she couldn't find the mind to back away and increase the distance between them. What the hell was _that_ supposed to mean?

"I want to get to know you better," he said.

"Y-You do?" she stuttered, her heart skipping a beat at his blunt words.

"Yeah. You're not working tomorrow, are you?"

"No…"

"Let's hang out somewhere, then. We can see a movie or grab dinner or whatever. You can decide."

He was asking her out.

She squashed her heart's wishful thinking. He was asking her out as an acquaintance who wanted to become better acquainted with her. There was nothing romantic about this. No way. No _way._

Still, an outing like this couldn't possibly end well. Could she handle being with him for more than ten minutes without wanting to jump into the path of a speeding car to rid herself of the anxiety? What if she raised her hopes subconsciously while spending time with him? What if he found out about her feelings? What if _Zack_ or _Larxene _found out?

Still, Demyx's voice rang loudly in her ears: _"You can't say you've lived life unless you take risks. If you _really_ like him and if you _really_ want to be with him, you _need_ to take a risk."_

"Are you busy tomorrow?" Axel's voice broke in gently.

She shook her head, allowing a small smile onto her face. Demyx wouldn't leave her alone if she didn't take at least _one_ risk. "A movie sounds good, actually."

He grinned. "A movie it is. When are you free tomorrow?"

"My last class ends at five."

"How about we meet up at five-thirty, then?"

"Okay." With that word, she felt something within her soar with anticipation.

Axel leaned away, darting his eyes to the clock on the wall behind the counter. His thin eyebrows shot up when he saw the time. "Wow, it's that late already? What time do you get off?"

"She's off now."

Imani whipped her head to the side and found her cousin standing on the other side of the counter, her lips pulled back in a Cheshire cat smile. Her shoulders sank and she shot Tifa an incredulous look. Only _now_ she decided to come back? If Zack found out about this…

"Go home early tonight, Imani," Tifa told her, crossing her arms. "Cloud and I can handle it for the rest of the night."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely. Just as long as you can get a ride back to your dorm."

A tinkle of keys caught her ear and Axel's voice said, "I can do that."

Imani scowled at Tifa's wink before sliding off the stool and telling the redhead, "Let me grab my things."

* * *

The kitchen door swung open just as Imani and Axel left through the front entrance of the bar. Tifa shot a grin at Cloud as he stopped to stand by his usual seat at the counter and placed a laptop on the surface. "I think that went really well, don't you?"

His broad shoulders trembled slightly as he chuckled under his breath and smirked at her silently. He opened the computer and tapped the mouse pad a few times.

"So," she stepped out from behind the counter to join him, "you said you knew the perfect place to hold Aerith's bridal shower?"

He hummed his affirmation, clicking on a link and moved out of the way. "Graceful Dahlia."

Tifa slid onto the stool, her eyes glued to the screen. According to the webpage, Graceful Dahlia appeared to be a small chic café with both indoor and outdoor seating as well as a spacious room for private parties. A beautiful garden with more species of flowers than Tifa could name surrounded the quaint building.

A smile grew on her face. She hadn't even left the homepage and already her heart was set on holding the bridal shower at this place. It was perfect.

"The café's contact information is here."

Her heart skipped a beat as Cloud's arm slithered over her shoulder to reach the mouse pad. She felt him behind her, leaning so close that all she had to do was lean back an inch to touch him. He was wearing the cologne she bought him for his birthday and it filled her senses.

She was not happy to admit she liked this closeness a little too much…but what could she do? Ask him to back up a step or two? That'd be weird and he might suspect she wasn't comfortable having him so close. He might think she didn't really see him as a brother.

No, telling him to back off wouldn't do. She could handle it. She could handle being this close to him for a few seconds. Yeah. No problem.

A sigh of relief almost slipped past her lips when the page finished loading. "Thanks," she murmured, looking over the email address and the phone number of the café management. "I'll talk to Yuffie about it tomorrow."

She felt his hum more than she heard it. The hand he used to maneuver the mouse rested on the edge of the counter next to the laptop. His flannel sleeve tickled her shoulder.

Tifa kept her eyes glued on the computer screen and away from his nicely toned arm. She was already fully aware that Cloud had a nice body, thank you very much. Stop beating so fast, you damn heart. Stop choking up, you stupid set of lungs. Tifa needed to _breathe._

"How'd you come across this place?" she asked as casually as she could.

"I made a delivery for Cid once or twice…" he paused before adding quietly, "and I thought of bringing Aerith here when we were together…"

Why did her damn heart stop when she heard him mumble that part about Aerith? Cloud and Aerith were a thing of the past and Tifa had given up on Cloud! There was no reason to feel her heart cracking or her gut twisting.

"Is something wrong, Teef?"

_No,_ she was going to say. _Nothing's wrong, Cloud,_ she wanted to reassure him…but then she made the mistake of meeting his electric blue eyes and her lies sizzled with the jolts that ran down her spine. Her mind's voice telling her to look away was far outdone by another voice—Aerith's. _Ask and he'll tell you. Ask and he'll tell you._

Tifa listened. "Aerith told me about how you two broke up."

He blinked and arched an eyebrow but despite how close he was, she couldn't see surprise or embarrassment coloring his eyes. She saw something else…something she couldn't name. "She did?" Cloud murmured.

Tifa nodded. "She said you both had feelings for different people."

Whatever was in his eyes deepened and sparked brighter. The color was so vivid and all at once she drowned and burned and convulsed.

"Aerith liked Zack," she whispered, "but who did you like?"

Cloud said nothing. For several long moments he just stared at her with those intense eyes, his brow wrinkled slightly and his breath ghosting over her face gently. Then, calloused fingertips brushed across her cheek and behind her ear to pin away her hair from her face, brushing against a spot that made her shiver. Her breath caught in her throat as his face moved closer but she couldn't tear her eyes away from his or speak up. She could feel her eyelids drooping as he closed in—

"WHOA!"

She tore her eyes open at the sound of a loud thud and whipped her head over her shoulder. A drunk man tottered away to the exit as a buff blue-eyed man in basketball shorts and a hoodie sighed in relief, bending down to right the toppled chair. "Whoo, that was close," the man said with a grin.

Just like that the dangerous atmosphere with Cloud vanished. She felt him distance himself from her, taking his warmth and leaving chilly emptiness behind her. She tried not to let it affect her, smiling warmly at the man as he waved. "Hey Hercules."

As she and Hercules made light conversation, she cursed her luck and the new questions that raced in her head. Did that really just happen? Was Cloud about to kiss her? Why?

She couldn't ask him now, though. He was disappearing into the kitchen, mumbling under his breath, "I left the radio on…"

* * *

Namine bounced on the balls of her feet as she waited outside the building, glancing at the clock on her phone for the fifteenth time. Her next class started in five minutes and it took her at least five minutes to get to the right classroom (maybe two if she ran, but it was hard to run with an armful of books and a bag hanging off her shoulder). She really hoped he'd come by soon.

She glanced at her phone again and a groan erupted in her throat. Oh, why couldn't Kairi ask him? She saw him between classes more often…If he didn't show up soon, Namine was going to be late!

"Namine."

Ah! Here he was! She smiled at him as he made his way up the steps towards her. "Hey, Roxas."

"Hey." He smiled back, nodding his head to the double-doors of the building. "You have a class in here?"

"N-No." Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and she had to glance away. "I was hoping to catch you before class started."

His eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline. "What's up?"

Okay. Deep…breath…Just ask him. "You're not working tomorrow, are you?" she tried to say while suppressing the blush on her face.

He shook his spiky head. "Nope. Why?"

She swallowed nervously. "Me, Kairi, and Sora were going to see _The Sorcerer's Apprentice _tomorrow." Her eyes slowly rose to lock with his. "You…You wanna come?"

Barely a few seconds passed before his face broke into a huge grin. "Sure. I'd love to."

A smile blossomed onto her face and relief washed over all her spazzing nerves. "Okay."

"You came here just to ask me that?"

Her face burned and she began dashing down the steps, calling over her shoulder, "I gotta go! I'll see you later!"

"Okay," he laughed as she left.

Namine groaned, nearly dropping her books to tangle her fingers in her hair and _tug_. Roxas probably thought she was an idiot_._ A fumbling, stumbling, mumbling _idiot._

At least he said yes.

* * *

"And here we have our grand ballroom," a short, stocky woman in red named Flora exclaimed, waving her arms with a flourish as she led the way through the double-doors. "We offer this room for large parties such as corporate meetings, first birthday parties, and of course," she winked over her shoulder, "weddings."

Green eyes roamed around the room, taking in the stone-colored carpet and walls and the grand candelabra chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Circular tables draped in beige cloth dotted the floor. The chairs that sat around each table were short compared to the high-backs of the chairs lining the long table running across one wall. A large wooden space—a dance floor, she presumed—lay in the middle of the room.

Zack turned slightly to whisper in her ear, "I _still_ like Castle of Dreams better."

Aerith arched an eyebrow, silently chiding him for turning down Enchanted Dominion _again _in the middle of their appointment.

"We offer a wide selection of colors to choose from as far as tablecloths and napkins and such go," Flora went on. "My personal favorite is the magenta."

"The azure looks better," a shorter, stockier woman in blue (Merryweather) muttered under her breath, raising her eyebrows.

Before Flora could argue, a third woman who stood taller than the other two quickly waved a hand to one of the tables where five plates of food sat. "We've prepared a sampling of our catering services."

Aerith felt Zack straighten at the prospect of food and smiled. With her hand in his big warm one, she was dragged to the table by him, only being released in order for him to pull out a chair for her. What he thought of the food could change everything.

"Our dear Fauna oversees all the catering here at Enchanted Dominion. Everything here is exquisite!" Flora raved, sitting down next to Aerith as Zack scooted the chair in and took his own seat. "Fauna, dear, please tell our guests what you've prepared today."

"Alright." The woman in green pointed to each sampling, moving in a circle around the plate. "Here we have…"

* * *

He wondered for the umpteenth time today why the hell he decided to go along with Demyx's inane quest to bring oblivious lovers together. Was it boredom? Relief from studies? Pure concern for his friends' wellbeing? He supposed it didn't matter right now. He found himself quite amused with this "mission."

For now.

_What's the situation?_

Zexion flicked his eyes to the table at the far end where Riku and Xion sat conversing. _They're talking,_ he typed into the message box and pressed the "enter" button.

"Texting on the job?"

He put his phone in his lap and scooted closer to the desk, sliding the books toward him and grabbing the handheld scanner. "Surely you've found yourself bored during your own shift, Roxas."

"Chyeah," the blond sighed. "At least you have a computer, though."

"The system keeps track of what sites I visit."

"No YouTube, then?"

He shared a smirk with the boy while stamping the books and sliding them back to him. "Your books are due in two weeks."

"Thanks. See ya around." He gathered the books and waved on his way out.

Just then his phone vibrated with another message from Demyx. He flipped open the phone, read the message, and rolled his eyes.

_That's it?_ Demyx said.

_ What did you expect? A make-out session? _Zexion plugged in. _I'd have to kick them out of the library if they engaged in such a thing._

A sudden female laugh caught his attention. He glanced at the table Riku and Xion were at and shot the pair a glare. The boy shrugged while the girl mouthed an apology sheepishly.

_What're they talking about?_

He clucked his tongue and shook his head dismissively at the pair. _I don't know, but it appears to amuse them. _

_ Well can you find out somehow?_

He rolled his eyes again. _Even if I wasn't in charge of manning the front desk, I am positive they would suspect if I hung around them, trying to distinguish their conversation topic._

_ Grr. Can you see their faces?_

He glanced up. _I see Riku's._

_ Is he smiling?_

He glanced up again, peered for a moment, then looked down to hide the way both his eyebrows rose to disappear behind his bangs. _To put it lightly._

_ What's that supposed to mean?_

Hmmm…How to describe it…

Ah. A picture was worth a thousand words.

His eyes gleamed deviously as he prepared the camera on his phone and poised it at the pair, hiding all but the lens behind his computer screen. With the press of a button, he captured one of Riku's rare full-face smiles and sent the image to Demyx. _I'll arrange a meeting with Sora and Kairi for tomorrow._

_ :D

* * *

_

He raised his hips off the chair and slipped his phone into his jeans pocket with an accomplished grin. Roxas and Namine, Axel and Imani, and now Riku and Xion. Ah, the Prince of Awesome was a magnet for this kind of thing, but he didn't mind in the least. Oh no.

Oh! A caller.

"Hello?" he said after pressing the flashing line button. "Myde the Prince of Awesome speaking."

"Demyx, help me."

His smile widened at the barely-there panic in Imani's voice. "Tonight's the ni-i-i-i-i-ight!" he sang into the mic.

Imani moaned. "What do I do?"

"Just relax and be yourself. Have fun."

A pause. "No, seriously. What do I do?"

He rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "Imani, he won't bite."

"Not unless I want him to…"

He blinked at the mumbled response, a bit uncertain of whether he heard correctly. "Wha?"

"Nothing," she quickly said.

"Uh…Okay. But really, be yourself, Imani. It'll be fine." He glanced at the computer and squeaked. "I gotta go. I'll talk to you later," he rushed out before switching on the radio input. "Thanks for listening to the Elixir on Arpeggio 101.3. Let's keep the tunes rolling! Here's _American Boy _by Estelle and Kanye West."

* * *

"Everything okay?" he asked as Imani scurried back to his side.

"Yeah," she said, flashing a small smile up at him. "So what are we going to see?"

Axel tore his eyes from her and scanned the schedule board. "What do you wanna see?"

"I don't know. What do _you_ want to see?"

"I don't care. You choose."

"Um…"

He glanced down at her again and arched an eyebrow at her thoughtful frown and the way she folded her arms across her chest. With her short hair pinned up on one side like that, she looked to him like a child deciding whether to get a scoop of strawberry ice cream or chocolate ice cream—cute. Very, very cute.

Her dark eyes darted up to his. "Did you see _Inception _yet?"

"Yeah," he said with a shrug. "I don't mind watching it again if you wanna see it."

The uncertainty in those eyes melted into careful approval. "Okay." She gave him another small smile before digging into her bag and moving to stand in line.

His other eyebrow shot up to meet the first. Was she looking for her wallet? He couldn't let her pay for a ticket, not even if this was only a friendly, unromantic outing.

With his hand in his pocket and his fingers curled around his wallet, Axel quickly strode to her side just as she reached the ticket window and slipped a bill through to the cashier. "Two for _Inception_."

"Wha—? Wait!"

Imani's cry came too late. The cashier took the bill and rang up the purchase, passing the tickets and Axel's change back through the window.

"Thanks." Axel took everything and sauntered off towards the theater entrance.

He heard brisk footsteps following him. "You didn't have to pay for my ticket," Imani said as he handed the tickets to the greeter.

"But I _wanted_ to," he said with a shrug.

She sputtered for a moment. "I'll buy the snacks, then."

"I'm not hungry. Besides, theater food's always expensive."

"Then how am I supposed to pay you back?"

"Who said you had to pay me back?"

"I _want_ to pay you back."

Ooh, turning the tables, was she? Her eyes gleamed with determination and her lips twisted into a frown. It appeared she was becoming comfortable enough around him to argue with him.

That was hot.

"Well…" he began, stepping towards her and bending down to her level, "if you insist…"

She gasped quietly as he stared into her bottomless dark eyes and brushed aside her bangs from her face. Those eyes widened as he neared her slowly…

Oi.

Axel froze, blinking away the hazy daze clouding his brain. When did he get so close to her? Why were his fingertips still nestled in her hair? No wonder his heart hammered in his chest. He was moving too fast. This was supposed to be a friendly, unromantic outing. He couldn't scare her off now.

Stamping on the urge to draw her closer, he donned a smirk and straightened up. "Let me think about it."

Imani blinked repeatedly and cleared her throat. "Okay," she murmured, ducking her head and tilting it away slightly.

His smirk widened and he began walking further into the building with her. "So the guy said it's the third one on our right…"

* * *

**Author's Afterthought: **I hope you enjoyed that. Please leave a review and let me know how I'm doing. Thanks for reading!


	14. Ah, You Have a Point

**Author's Comments: **Hello! Hope your week's been going alright. Here's the next chapter-enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Kingdom Hearts _or _Final Fantasy VII_. I own Imani.

* * *

As the students from her first class for the day left the room, she flipped open her planner and reviewed her to-do list for what must have been the fiftieth time that morning alone. Zack was _still_ set on holding the wedding at the Castle of Dreams so she'd have to confirm plans with the hotel soon to secure the date. Axel's friend Marluxia already helped her with the flower arrangements. Cake and dresses and tuxes were out of the way for now…the guests were RSVP-ing…the wedding party was set…

She nibbled on her lip and tapped the tip of her pen on the paper. A gnawing sensation nagged her brain. Something was missing.

Setting her pen down, she leaned back in her chair and counted off the wedding elements with her fingers: wedding party (bride, groom, bridesmaids, groomsmen, maid of honor, best man, minister, ring bearer, flower girls), wedding venue (Caste of Dreams, according to Zack's insistence), wedding cake, dresses, tuxedos, flower arrangements and bouquets, catering (a la Castle of Dreams staff), hair and makeup (a la Divine Rose's Luxord Atkin Downes), the bridal shower (Tifa and Yuffie insisted on taking care of it), the bachelor party (Cloud and Xigbar's responsibility)…

Oh! Music! And an emcee!

Quickly she scribbled the elements down at the bottom of the list. How could she have forgotten? She was going to dance with her father and with Zack, after all.

She tapped the tip of her pen to her chin. Who would be a good emcee? He (or she) had to be entertaining, comfortable in front of audiences, and able to think on his (or her) feet. There had to be someone she knew of who fit the description…

* * *

His phone vibrated in his jacket pocket. As he rounded the corner on his way to class, he drew out his phone and glanced at the caller ID. A smile grew on his face as he answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi Demyx, this is Aerith."

His book bag bounced off his leg as he jogged down the hall. "Hey! What's up?"

"I wanted to ask a favor of you."

"Anything for the bride."

She hesitated a moment on the other side of the line. "Will you be the emcee for our wedding?"

He skidded to a halt both at the request and upon arriving at his classroom. "I'd be honored!" he cried, throwing his free hand up and ignoring the sting as it slapped against his thigh on its way back down.

"Great! Zack and I still need to draw up a rough draft of the script, but one of us will call you and let you know when it's done so we can talk about it later."

"Sounds good!"

"Thanks, Demyx. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, bye!" He hung up on her and pocketed the phone. Aerith wanted _him_ to emcee the wedding! That would be so awesome!

He strode into the classroom, humming the wedding march under his breath.

* * *

With a smile on her face, Aerith checked the emcee item off the list. Demyx was perfect for the job. She knew he'd do great.

Now she had to think of someone to manage the music…

A slight groan rumbled in her throat. Demyx would be perfect for _that_ job, too! From what Imani's told her, he practically breathed music and romance. She couldn't possibly ask him to manage the music _and_ emcee the wedding. That would be too much!

Maybe there was someone else who could do the job…like…

Oh! Like that DJ who hosted the radio show Imani always listened to!

Her smile widened. Perfect! She was sure Demyx and the DJ would get along just fine. They seemed so similar, after all. Both were heavily involved with music and both knew a lot about romance and relationships…

Hmm…When she really thought about it, Demyx and Myde were so similar they could be the same person. She'd only listened to Arpeggio 101.3 a few times, but Myde's voice and Demyx's voice even _sounded _alike…

Oh! It was time to start class!

She shut her planner and placed her phone on top, rising from her seat and stepping around the desk. "Good morning, class."

* * *

Zack grabbed the paper bag with his breakfast in it and headed out the door of Happy Mushroom. He wasn't supposed to be eating any fast food, but he was _starving_ and Happy Mushroom was the closest place around and he needed to eat _fast_ because he had a class in fifteen minutes. Following a training diet was _hard_ in a society like this and this would be the first time he'd eaten any fast food in _months_.

Yeah. He was sure Captain Hewley wouldn't mind. The guy was turning into an older-brother-maybe-father figure for him. A breakfast burrito wouldn't permanently damage that, would it?

Would it?

"Zack."

He jumped, whirling around to the voice…and sighing in relief at seeing his younger cousin and her silver-haired friend sitting at one of the umbrella tables.

Hmm? Imani and…Riku?

"Wanna join us?" Imani asked, nodding to the empty seat next to her.

After a pause, he was at her side in two long strides and plopping down next to her. "I'm not interrupting anything?" he asked with an arched eyebrow, taking out his breakfast burrito.

She glanced at her friend before arching an eyebrow at Zack. "What do you think you might be interrupting?"

"What _could _I be interrupting?"

"You tell us."

He nearly bit his tongue as he chewed. You tell _us? _Us? _Us?_

"Is there something you haven't told me, Imani?" he said after swallowing.

She propped up her head with her elbow on the table. "Like what?"

He shrugged, shooting a look at Riku and biting into the burrito again. "Anything."

"Zack, just say it."

Ah, enough beating around the bush. He asked before taking another bite, "Are you two…?"

"Are we what?" she sighed. When he arched an eyebrow at her again, her eyes lit up. "Oh! No! No, no, no." She laughed. "We're not going out."

Riku finally spoke for the first time since Zack joined them: "You thought we're dating?"

"Really, Zack? Me and _him?_"

"Going out with Imani would be like going out with my sister."

"Alright already." Zack held up his hands after crumpling the burrito wrapper into a ball and tossing it into the paper bag. "Just asking."

And it was the truth. He was just asking. He didn't really mind Imani and Riku going out. She'd known the guy since…what, middle school? Thus, Zack felt he knew Riku pretty well, too.

Yeah. Better Riku than that flirtatious punk Axel.

"So how's life?" Riku asked casually, changing the subject with ease.

"Eh." Zack scratched his chin. "Same old, same old. Training, Seventh Heaven, wedding in less than three months. You know."

Riku smirked. "Ah."

"Zack, I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

The grave tones in Imani's voice peaked his attention. He turned to her and asked, "What is it?"

She took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and quietly declared, "We need to help Tifa and Cloud get together."

Zack was glad he finished his breakfast burrito before hearing her say those words. Maybe she was waiting for him to finish because she knew he might've choked if he was still eating? Still, his little cousin was full of surprises today, wasn't she? She really wanted to interfere with Tifa and Cloud's friendship? Conflict-avoidant, leave-me-alone-and-I'll-leave-you-alone Ima—

Wa-a-a-a-ait.

"Did Tifa or Cloud do something to you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

She answered so promptly she almost cut off his question. "They teamed up on me to get me alone in the bar with Axel."

His eyes widened. "They. Did. _What?_"

"Cloud _lied _to me to get me out of the kitchen and then Tifa _abandoned_ me in the bar to supposedly get whisky and scotch and left me alone with Axel for ten whole minutes," she elaborated.

What. The. HELL?

"Did he do anything to you?" he demanded, grabbing her shoulder.

"No."

"He'd better not have. God, I _told_ them to—"

"So you'll help me get back at them, right?"

"Hell yeah!" He snatched the paper bag and squashed it into a tiny, tight ball. "They think they can play matchmaker behind my back? They're dead wrong!"

Imani's face broke into a grin and she turned to her friend across the table. "You wanna help too, Riku?"

"Sure."

"Great! I'll ask Demyx after class to see if he wants to help, too."

Class?

Zack groaned, scrambling from his seat and dashing to the sidewalk. He was going to be late! "I gotta go we'll talk more later thanks for telling me about this Imani!" he rushed.

"Anything for my favorite cousin!" he heard Imani call after him.

* * *

He waited until after Zack's car rounded the corner to state bemusedly, "I thought you said you _enjoyed_ the date you had with Axel Flynn last night."

"It wasn't a _date_," Imani rolled her eyes,"and I needed some sort of excuse to get Zack to step up his game."

"Sneaky."

"Zexion's rubbing off on me. I'm surprised you didn't bother scheming to get Kairi and Sora together before Nam and Roxas did."

She had a point, he supposed. He saw Zexion at least four times a week for at least three hours at the library. Logically, _he_ should've been the one to bring up Tifa and Cloud's mischief to Zack to get him to "step up his game."

Well. Maybe he could try his hand at _scheming._

He took a sip from his coffee before carefully noting, "Funny how Zack thought you and me were going out."

"Yeah," Imani snorted, rolling her eyes at her cousin's thinking.

Here it was. The moment. "You know…" he trailed off, arching an eyebrow at her.

She blinked…blinked again…and her jaw dropped. "You're not seriously…"

"Well you have to wonder what they'd think if they saw us like that," he said with a shrug.

"But it's gonna turn into a _huge _misunderstanding!" she hissed. "They're gonna get the wrong idea and they might distance themselves from us and if they find out the truth they might not trust us anymore—"

"_Or_ they might realize what they're missing and fight for it with all they've got."

"But how are we going to explain everything without having them blow up at us? Either way, it's going to end ugly."

"You'd rather lie around in your comfort zone, wondering whether or not he feels anything for you?"

"I'd rather protect whatever friendship I have with him than risk losing him because of a stupid, senseless _lie._" She gathered her books and shouldered her bag, getting up from her seat with a sigh. "I gotta go. I'm sorry. I can't do something like that."

His retort died on his tongue as he watched her stride away back to the HBU campus. All he could manage was an incredulous breathless laugh. She was okay with muddling in someone else's relationship but not in her own? Really? How selfish.

Steadily the cloud of indignation in his brain dissipated as he thought about her words. She had a point…again. Plus, when it came to Tifa and Cloud, it was going to take all the scheming possible to get them to realize each other's feelings.

Huh. That _scheme_ backfired before it could even take a breath.

* * *

"Popcorn?"

Sora's hand shot up. "Me!"

Kairi laughed. "You and I are going to go get everything, silly." She turned to the pair of blonds and told them, "We'll go get the snacks. Save our seats, 'kay?"

"You sure?" Roxas asked after glancing at Namine.

"Yeah. You want anything to drink?"

"Coke, I guess."

"Me too."

"Alrighty. We'll meet you inside, then."

They stepped into line, eyeing Roxas and Namine as they headed down the hall towards the theater room. Once they disappeared inside, Sora and Kairi stepped out of the line with identical smirks. "Good work, Agent Ess," Kairi told him.

"You too." Sora shoved his hands into his pants pockets. "How long do you think we should hang around out here, Agent Kay?"

"Well, the movie starts in half an hour so maybe…" she glanced at her phone for the time, "fifteen minutes? I wanna talk with Nam before the movie starts."

"And I should talk with Roxas, too."

"Fifteen minutes should be enough, right?"

He shrugged. "I think so."

She nodded once and turned to the menu hanging above the popcorn makers and the soda machines. A grimace weighed down her smile. Why did movie food have to be so expensive? "So…popcorn, coke…should we get candy, too?"

"Nah. No need. You're sweet already."

A blush sprung onto her face. She ducked her face to make her hair fall and hide the redness. "D-Do you come up with these sayings on your own?" she laughed.

"Nope." Arms wrapped around her shoulders from behind and pulled her into his embrace. "You're my inspiration."

She leaned back and closed her eyes in content.

* * *

"You don't think they'll ditch us, do you?"

For a moment Namine's heart stopped. She hadn't thought of the possibility…but when she considered Roxas' question, she shook her head. "I don't think so. Kairi's really wants to see this movie. Sora too. I doubt they'd waste money just to get into the theater with us and then leave. Why would they ditch us, anyway?"

"I dunno." She heard him shrug even though he sat a few seats away. "To get back at us for ditching them last week, maybe?"

"Well they owe us for ditching them. If we really did show, they probably wouldn't be together now."

"True."

The picture of a pristine castle-like building surrounded by flowers popped up on the screen—the Castle of Dreams Hotel. That was where Imani's cousin and professor were probably getting married. Namine received an invitation in the mail recently, but she'd held off on sending the RSVP immediately like she usually would've.

She was allowed to bring a guest with her…

She glanced from the corner of her eye at Roxas. She'd been meaning to ask him but something always interrupted them and her courage always failed her whenever they were alone. Could this be a good time—

"What's up?"

Heat raced to her face when she realized he was looking back at her with smiling blue eyes. "N-Nothing," she stammered, flashing a grin and whipping her focus back to the screen.

_Thanks for making Arpeggio 101.3 the number one station with the most listeners!_ the screen said.

Arpeggio 101.3…Myde…What would he advise her in a situation like this?

"_Go for it!"_ she imagined the DJ telling her enthusiastically.

Ohhh, but part of her didn't _want_ to go for it…

"_You might never get a chance like this again."_

She stifled a sigh. He had a good point. The line for the snack bar looked pretty long so Sora and Kairi wouldn't barge in anytime soon…

Right. She'd do it.

She breathed in deeply, swallowed down the nervous waver in her voice, and began, "Uh…by the way…"

He turned to look at her again, arching an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"You said you met Imani, right?"

"Right."

Quickly! She had to spit it out before her courage disappeared or before Kairi and Sora came! "Well her cousin's getting married in a few months and I got invited and the invitation said I could bring a guest with me and it's on November eleventh and—"

"Namine."

Her tongue skidded to a halt and she clamped her mouth shut.

Roxas blinked with a smile. "Are you asking me to go to the wedding with you?" he asked.

Thank goodness the room was dark. She hoped her blush wasn't _too_ noticeable when she nodded.

"November eleventh, you said?"

She nodded again. Please say yes please say yes please say yes!

A dazzling smile broke out across his face. "I'd be honored to go with you."

Yes! Yes yes _yes!_

"Okay, great!" she tried not to squeal. "I'll let you know more about it later."

"Okay." He nodded.

"Okay," she murmured, turning back to the screen just as the ad for the Castle of Dreams Hotel popped up again.

* * *

Demyx felt like stabbing his textbook with his pencil. Damn homework! Sure, he'd always wanted to visit Bhujerba, but the people spoke English there too, right? And how was it that Zexion could nail the grammar _and_ the accent perfectly? He wasn't even studying Bhujerban!

Demyx would've ranted in his head more if his phone hadn't gone off. He snatched it off the bed and grinned at the caller ID. Aerith. "Hello?" he sang into the phone.

Aerith paused before asking with a hint of confusion, "Demyx?"

"Hello, future missus of Zack Fair," he chimed, leaning against the side of his bed. "Need something?"

"I…I called Arpeggio 101.3 and asked the manager for Myde's number…"

His heart skipped a beat and his grip on his phone tightened. Oh crap.

"And he gave me _your_ number…"

Oh _crap._

"Are…A-Are you Myde?"

Crap crap crap crap crap crap—

"Demyx?"

"Aerith, please don't tell anyone!" he blurted, scrambling to his knees and clutching the phone with both hands. "Please, please, _please _don't tell anyone! I'll pay for the wedding! I'll pay for your honeymoon! I'll pay for both! Just please don't—"

"Demyx, don't worry," Aerith cut him off patiently. "If you don't want anyone knowing, I'll keep your secret."

He blinked. "Really?"

"Really. I understand why you'd want to keep your job a secret. If word got out that _you_ were the great love guru of Arpeggio 101.3, all kinds of people would be flooding to you with questions about relationships. I can imagine that'd be quite overwhelming."

Demyx jumped to his feet and hopped around the room, waving an arm excitedly and beaming. "Thank you so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Of course! Well, I was going to ask you to be our music DJ for the wedding, but I've already asked you to emcee…"

"Hmmm…" He frowned, hunching his shoulders and racking his brain for a solution. "How about I ask one of my coworkers to do it?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm sure I can get someone to do it. It's the least I can do for you."

"Thank you, Demyx. Could you let me know as soon as possible?"

"Of course!"

"Alright. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay! Bye." He hung up on her, tossed the phone onto his bed, and sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I love Aerith," he told his unfazed dorm mate.

Zexion sighed and returned to his homework. "Who doesn't?"

* * *

Sora peered around in the dark room for the two blonds with a frown on his face. Even when he spotted them and led the way up the stairs to their row, his frown deepened. The theater wasn't crowded_ at all_. There went _that_ part of his idea.

"Hey Nam?" Kairi began, placing the drinks she held in the cup-holders. "Can you come with me to the bathroom?"

Namine nodded and got up. "Sure."

His girlfriend winked at him, backing out of the row. "We'll be right back."

"Okay." He winked back, plopping into the seat Namine was sitting in and pouring himself a box of popcorn. So the debriefing session began.

He waited until after Namine and Kairi disappeared from view before commenting offhandedly, "S' too bad the theater isn't crowded. We could've split up."

Roxas turned to him, arching an eyebrow. "You're really gonna help me?"

"Dude, I was the one who came up with this movie double-date thing."

"Really?"

"I told you before, Roxas." He handed him a box of popcorn across the two seats separating them with a grin. "I got your back."

Roxas watched him carefully for a few moments before returning the grin gratefully and accepting the popcorn.

"Okay." Sora set down the half-full popcorn bag and started eating from his box. "So my best friend saw this move already and told me that it's not that scary but there are some kinda freaky parts. You could reach for her hand or wrap an arm around her shoulders or something. Be creative, I guess."

* * *

"What if I pretend to get scared at the wrong part?"

"Don't worry about it!" Kairi reassured her, running her fingers through her hair to smooth it out. "Just flash him that pretty smile of yours and voila!"

Namine's brow creased uncertainly. "Voila."

"Nam, just try it. Please? For me?" She stuck out her lower lip and clasped her hands together, staring at her cousin in the mirror pitifully.

She glanced away with a sigh. "O-Okay…"

"Oh-kay! Let's go!" Kairi grabbed the girl's wrist and began pulling her out of the bathroom. "The movie's gonna start soon!"

* * *

Without glancing down, she reached into the open cracker box, pulled out a crisp, and slipped it into her mouth, chewing slowly while staring at the screen of her laptop. There was no way the great ninja Yuffie Kisaragi would fall to Tifa Lockheart. Staring contests were her specialty. And she'd grabbed her favorite flavor of crackers. She could go at this all night if she had to.

But she wouldn't have to.

Tifa blinked and sighed. "Yuffie…"

"HAH!" Yuffie jabbed a finger at the screen—right on Tifa's forehead. "I won! Now you _have_ to tell me what went down with Spiky."

"Nothing happened."

"_Lies!_"

"Yuffie—"

"Tell me or else I'm logging off and blocking you and you'll have to plan the bridal shower all by yourself!"

That stopped Tifa in her tracks. Yuffie watched as the woman stammered and opened and closed her mouth like a fish before sighing long and loud. "Honestly," she began, propping her head up with her elbow on the table, "I don't really know what happened."

Yuffie popped another crisp into her mouth. "Whaddya mean?"

"He…He was acting strangely."

"How?"

She took a deep breath and rushed out, "I think he was about to kiss me."

The girl choked on her cracker. "WHAT?"

"I said I _think! _That doesn't mean I'm right! Maybe he was going to whisper the name of whoever he liked when he and Aerith broke up—"

"Teef!" she spat, thumping her chest and hacking harshly. "I'm so confused!"

Tifa cradled her head in her hands and moaned. "I asked him who he liked when he broke up with Aerith since he and Aerith had feelings for other people and realized that when they were dating…okay?"

"Okay? _Okay?_" Yuffie threw aside the box of crackers and gripped the screen. "Teef, he was going to _kiss_ you after you asked him that?"

"I don't know!"

Yuffie's head spun. Cloud was gonna kiss Tifa! He was gonna confess that Tifa was his one and only! Gah, they were so close to getting together! Who the hell interrupted them? Why, if Yuffie ever found who did such a horrendous thing, she'd smash his face in! She was sure it was a guy 'cuz a girl wouldn't interrupt something like that—

"Yuffie?"

She had to tell her! She had to spell it out for her! The sooner she knew the better!

"Yuffie?"

"Do you know what this means?" she cried, shaking the screen with her crumbly fingers. "He liked _you!_ _You _were the one he had feelings for when he was going out with Aerith!"

Tifa blinked, blinked again, then _laughed._ "Right."

Yuffie's ears twitched at the sarcasm. She shook the screen with more fervor as if trying to shake some sense into Tifa. "I'm serious, Teef!"

The woman on the screen shook her head and laughed again before saying, "So I'm thinking of holding the bridal shower at a place called Graceful Dahlia—"

"No! We're not done talking about Cloud!" Yuffie protested.

"Yes we are," she said firmly. "Your Cloud talk can wait. We have to plan Aerith's bridal shower."

"But—"

"I was going to ask the staff if they could help with decorations—"

"Teef—"

"If you keep shaking the screen like that, you'll break your computer."

Immediately she released the computer, leaving behind dusty fingerprints. Vinnie would get on her case if she broke _another_ computer. But she _had_ to convince Tifa! The woman just didn't get it! "Teef…" she groaned.

"Later." With a stern look the subject was tossed to the side and chucked into the garbage can.

Yuffie resolved to dig around in the trash later. She would _not _let this go.

* * *

**Author's Afterthought: **Please leave a review! Thanks for reading!


	15. Extended Operations Again

**Author's Comments: **Um...hi. I'm so sorry for not updating sooner. _So_ sorry. Life got in the way. I hope this chapter makes up for the long, long wait. Please enjoy (and leave a review after)!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Kingdom Hearts_ or _Final Fantasy _or any non-_Kingdom Hearts_ Disney characters. I own Imani.

* * *

A vibration in her pocket tore her attention from the radio. She wriggled around on her stack of crates to pull out her cell phone and checked the caller ID. Riku Gallagher.

She sighed before flipping the phone open and holding it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Sorry about earlier."

Imani smiled, reaching up to lower the volume of the radio. "I know."

"I guess…I was a little desperate."

"Just a little."

"Sorry," he said again.

"I understand why," she told him. "You really like her. It's natural to feel desperate when you don't know her exact feelings…or Axel's."

"Axel seems to like you well enough."

"He's probably just being nice to me because I'm his professor's fiancé's cousin." She waved away the subject with her hand as if waving away a pesky fly. She didn't want to have to think about him more than she did already. "Anyway, when can I meet this Xion?"

Riku chuckled uncomfortably on the other side of the line. "She'll probably be at the library tomorrow but…"

"But?"

"But she…I don't know if she's ready to meet you yet."

She blinked and straightened in her seat. "She knows who I am?"

"We've talked about you once or twice."

"And what makes you think she isn't ready to meet me?"

He paused before answering, "She's shy and self-conscious."

"Oh…" she said uncertainly, trailing off. That didn't sound like that was the case…but oh well. "I guess…let me know when I can meet her, okay? I really want to meet her."

"Sure. I'll talk to you later, then."

"Okay." She hung up and stared at the call timer on the screen, her brow furrowed in confusion. Why wouldn't Xion want to meet her? Did she hear something about Imani that intimidated her? Imani didn't think she was an intimidating person.

_"And if you said this life ain't good enough, I'd give my world…"_

She pocketed her phone again and leaned into the corner. She supposed she'd find out the real reason eventually.

_"Cause you're so smooth…"

* * *

_

He inhaled the intoxicating smell of coffee beans and breathed out slowly. The expectant stares of his accomplices burned his face but he ignored them for a moment to center his focus. Yes, they were going to freak. Yes, they were going to want to know why. As the leader of this operation, the Prince of Awesome had to remain levelheaded and confident in his explanation.

With that, he opened his eyes, met the two pairs of blue eyes before him, and began: "Agents, our mission has expanded tremendously as of yesterday."

Sora and Kairi blinked owlishly. "What do you mean?" the boy asked tentatively.

"We," he paused for emphasis…until he felt Zexion's impatient glare make his skin tingle, "are no longer continuing Operation: BRAIN T."

"What?" they both cried, leaning forward and dropping their jaws. They nearly knocked over their cups of coffee.

"Wait wait wait! Let me finish." He waved a hand calmly while sipping his green tea. "We are now assuming position for Operation: BET."

"BET?" the couple—ahh, it never got old—repeated.

"Bring Everyone Together," he elaborated with a grin, "meaning Namine and Roxas, Imani and Axel, Riku and Xion—"

"_Riku?_" Sora gaped.

"Who's Xion?" Kairi asked.

"—and Tifa and Cloud per request of Imani," Demyx finished without skipping a beat, waggling four fingers in front of his face with his free hand.

The brunet smashed a finger on the crumbs littering his plate and wrinkled his brow. "We're bringing _all_ of them together? Isn't that a lot?"

"It _is _a daunting task, but I believe that our team can accomplish anything," he said, setting down his cup next to Zexion's black coffee. "Every single target is a lost soul, searching for their counterpart in this crazy world. We can't abandon them in their journeys towards each other!"

"How can we possibly bring _everyone _together?" Kairi asked as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"We can kill two birds with one stone," Zexion said.

"Huh?" The couple—how he loved calling them that—turned their attention to the Cloaked Schemer. Demyx shifted in his seat to watch his dorm mate explain.

"Imani and Riku will be helping with the Tifa-Cloud effort," Zexion began, turning his mug absentmindedly as he spoke. "While they help Tifa and Cloud, we help unite them with their respective objects of affection."

Sora and Kairi—Demyx loved calling them that, too—glanced at each other, nodding slowly. "You mean help Imani with Axel…"

"Yes."

"And help Riku with Xion…"

"Yes."

Kairi nodded again, but her lips twisted into a befuddled frown. "Who's Xion, anyway?"

"This girl who hangs out at the library all the time but she's not actually a stu…" Sora froze, laughed nervously, and reiterated, "I mean, Riku's friend."

"What were you about to say?"

"Nothing!"

"Anyway!" Demyx chirruped, clapping his hands. "Yeah! Help Imani and Riku by getting on their good sides with helping them get Cloud and Tifa get together and then earning their trust with their own romance problems!"

They went silent, nodding and contemplating and sipping their coffee. "Are you sure that's going to work?" Kairi finally asked.

Demyx blinked, glancing confusedly at Zexion before shrugging. "Why wouldn't it work?"

"Imani and Riku are both pessimists. Proud pessimists."

"So?"

"'Birds of a feather flock together' is what I believe Kairi is implying," Zexion said, crossing his arms.

"Right." The girl nodded. "What if they grow closer to each other through this mission and then end up liking each other instead?"

Demyx froze. He hadn't thought of that. The confidence he gathered before starting this conversation began seeping out of his veins. "Uh…"

"Riku really seems to like Xion, though," Sora said.

"But Imani used to like Riku, remember?" Kairi fired back. "What if this rekindles some forgotten feelings?"

Her boyfriend shrugged. "It's worth a shot, though, right?"

"Right," Demyx quickly agreed more to console himself than to console Kairi. "Risks must be taken to ensure our friends' happiness."

Still, Kairi's frown deepened and she sank into her seat. "If you say so…"

He ignored Zexion's skeptical stare and pushed aside his slight unease, donning a bright smile and asking, "So how was the date last night?"

Kairi smiled a little, shrugging one shoulder as Sora tilted his head. "It was okay, I think," he said.

"What happened?" he asked eagerly, leaning on the table and scooting to the edge of his seat.

They glanced at each other…and began laughing nervously under their breaths. "We're not sure," Kairi admitted.

He reeled back and arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean you're not sure?"

Sora scratched the back of his spiky head and chuckled. "We were too busy watching the movie to pay attention to them."

"_But_ they seem pretty comfortable with each other," his girlfriend added.

Demyx's face broke into a smile. Aw, he'd let it slide. _The Sorcerer's Apprentice _was supposed to be a pretty good movie.

"What was the movie about?"

His ears perked at Zexion's question. He knew what that underlying spiciness in his voice meant: Zexion was up to something…but what?

"This nerdy guy gets chosen to become a sorcerer's apprentice," unknowing, unsuspecting Sora answered.

"And?"

"And…Did you watch the movie?"

"No." Demyx turned to look at his dorm mate just as Zexion arched his visible eyebrow. "Did you?"

"Yeah. We went to see it yesterday, remember?"

"Going to see a movie and actually watching the movie are two different things."

After a second of deliberation, Demyx brought his green tea to his lips. Snorting into his drink at Zexion's punch line was probably worth it.

"What are you implying?" innocent, oblivious Kairi asked.

"I'd just like to remind you to keep this mission you two are undertaking a top priority over the 'quality time' you spend together."

He felt the liquid push against the back of his nose as he snorted. Immediately he slammed his cup down and covered his mouth with the back of his hand, doing his best to suppress his snickers.

Red blossomed on both their cheeks as they protested together, "We didn't do anything!"

"I didn't say you did," Zexion replied easily.

"L-Looks like we'll need to plan another date…" Demyx breathed in deeply once the tension in his stomach from his laughter disappeared, "and a meeting with Riku and Imani about Tifa and Cloud. Zexion?"

"What?" his dorm mate deadpanned.

"Can you talk to Riku and ask when he's free?" He turned to him and clasping his hands before him. "Ple-e-e-e-ease?"

With a sigh he rolled his visible eye and pulled out his Lexicon. "Yes, sir," he drawled.

He nodded approvingly, turning back to the couple. "I'll talk to Imani. You two try getting Roxas and Namine to go on another date and report back to me after."

They saluted, clearing their throats from their embarrassment and nodding fervently. "Roger!"

* * *

Her head rose at a knock on her office door. "Come in," Aerith called.

The door clicked open and in stepped a man with a white doctor coat, tanned skin, and dark spiky hair. His square spectacles framed his blue eyes and made him appear older than he really was. He nodded and offered a small grin to her. "Dr. Gainsborough."

"Dr. Dohring," she said, returning the grin and setting her pen down. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"I wanted to ask you about a case I got earlier this week."

"Who's the patient?"

"Vanitas Osment." He opened the case folder he brought with him and handed it to her across her desk. "He was brought in because of his guardian's concern for his psychological wellbeing, but all his tests came clean. Upon looking at him, he appears to be normal, but his habitual tics and his speech…the little things he says and does bother me."

She frowned as she skimmed over the case contents. This Vanitas Osment had midnight black spiky hair and sharp goldenrod eyes. His smirk appeared too carefree and…what was the word…dark? Sinister? "How strange," she murmured. "His case sounds a great deal like the case I've been trying to crack for the past few months."

"The Ansem case?"

"Yes." She closed the folder and set it aside. "I'll schedule some tests for Mr. Osment. Perhaps I can find similarities between the two."

He nodded, allowing his smile to widen a millimeter or two. "How go the wedding preparations?"

She sighed deeply, leaning back in her chair and rubbing a temple. "I've been extremely lucky to have completed a lot of the preparations on such short notice but there's still so much to be done."

"There always is, isn't there?" he chuckled, pocketing his hands in his coat.

Aerith chuckled with him, sighing again. "By the way, thank you for saying you'll be one of Zack's groomsmen, Terra."

"It's the least I can do for both of you," Terra said. "Ven and Aqua keep telling me how excited they are to come back home and see everyone, especially the bridesmaid you paired me with."

"Really? I'll try to get Imani to visit the center so she can meet you."

"Great."

She nodded, glancing at her wedding to-do list. "Oh, and just so you know, you and Ven are invited to Zack's bachelor party."

He blinked behind his glasses. "Really? Who's planning it?"

* * *

Xigbar yawned, stretching his long arms over his head and groaning loudly. "So, like, you know him better," he grumbled. "What d'ya think he'd like?"

His partner in crime shrugged, staring at his open laptop on the counter.

The bartender sighed, letting his arms fall to slap his thighs. Typical silent, stoic Spiky_. _"C'mon, there has to be _something_ you can come up with."

"I've been busy," the blond answered simply.

"Of course. You've been busy." He smirked. "You and your modeling and your Tifa-admiring."

Electric blue eyes darted up from the screen and narrowed dangerously.

_Ooh_, trying to be intimidating, huh? Xigbar merely laughed, placed his hands on the counter, and leaned forward to match the glare with an easy grin. "What? You gonna deny it? I got dirt on you, dude."

Spiky's eyebrow twitched…and he looked away, focusing back on the laptop separating them.

"Tch." Xigbar straightened up and crossed his arms. Yeah. That's right. Couldn't talk back now, could he?

"Tifa said you were going out with someone."

Xigbar stiffened. "She did, huh?" he slurred through a clenched jaw as his fingers dug into the crooks of his arms and curled into fists.

Spiky glanced up. "Are you?" he asked, his eyes alit with mischief.

Irritating bastard. Damn Tifa and her loose lips. If there were ever a time the two of them seemed so well suited for each other, it was now. When the hell was Spiky gonna fess up? When the hell was Tifa gonna admit her feelings? When the hell would all this stupid sexual tension just go the fu—

Ah. Xigbar digressed. Spiky thought Tifa's loose-lipped claim was dirt on him? Puh-_lease._

"What if I am?" Xigbar shrugged, smoothing out the tight creases around his grin. "Jealous?"

"Just wondering," he said with a shrug of his own.

"We can't waste time with your wondering, Spiky." He waved a hand and nodded his head to the laptop. "We got a bachelor's party to plan."

His broad shoulders bobbed with a silent chuckle. Spiky turned the laptop around to face Xigbar. "I was thinking of taking him to this place."

Xigbar's one eye lit up at the red and black webpage and the pictures of the lounge. "The Moulin Rouge, huh?" His smile sharpened into a smirk. "Nice choice. After we can go to The Joker and do a little gambling."

He turned the laptop back around and pulled out his cell phone, humming assertion to his suggestion.

"So," he leaned on the counter again, "when the hell _are_ you gonna fess up to Tifa?"

"We can't waste time with your questions, Xigbar." Spiky's lips quirked up into a smirk and he glanced at Xigbar briefly. "We got a bachelor's party to book."

Tch. Cheeky. Xigbar pushed away from him, clucking his tongue and smirking at the stoic blond.

* * *

Terra gently took off his glasses, folded them, and tucked them away in his breast pocket as he held the office door open for Aerith. "That should be interesting," he commented, imagining Cloud and Xigbar squinting their eyes in front of a computer screen and making calls…well, imagining Cloud making the calls and Xigbar downing a drink or two.

"I'm sure you'll have fun," Aerith laughed.

"I _always _have fun with those guys," he sighed, allowing a corner of his mouth to quirk up in a grin.

Just then a doctor with fiery red hair rounded the corner from the other end of the hall, sauntering to the elevator and grinning at them. "Hey Professor," he said to Aerith. "You heading to lunch, too?"

She nodded, gesturing to Terra as they stopped next to the redhead. "Axel, this is Dr. Terra Dohring."

Terra let his eyes run up and down the lanky doctor. So this was Dr. Axel Flynn. When he met the pair of green eyes, he offered a hand and said, "I've heard a lot about you."

Axel shook it firmly. "Good things, I hope."

"Of course."

With a smirk he leaned against the wall nearest to the button panel. "So Professor," Axel jammed his thumb on a button, "how's the wedding shaping up?"

"We've still got a ways to go."

"Marluxia was able to help you with the flowers?"

"Yes, he was very helpful. Thank you for the suggestion."

"You're attending the wedding, too?" Terra asked as the elevator dinged and the doors parted open.

Axel blinked. "Yeah. You too?"

"Zack chose me to be one of his groomsmen."

"Nice. Who's the bridesmaid?"

The doors closed and the elevator descended. Terra opened his mouth…then shut it. What was her name? Aerith mentioned it earlier…

"It's Imani," Aerith provided kindly.

Axel whipped his head to gape at them. "I-Imani? You're paired with Imani?"

Terra arched an eyebrow at his reaction. "You know her?"

"Yeah."

"What's she like? I haven't met her yet."

"She's…" he trailed off, darting his eyes away and reaching up to scratch the back of his head. "She's uh…"

Terra watched him expectantly, his other eyebrow rising to meet the first. Interesting. It was faint, but Dr. Axel Flynn was blushing.

As Axel muttered something under his breath (it sounded like "How to describe her without pissing Zack off…"), Aerith commented quietly, "I don't think Axel is the best person to ask that question."

"What do you mean?" Terra asked as the elevator doors opened, following Aerith out and being followed by Axel.

She smiled and tilted her head. "He's a bit…biased."

"I heard that, Professor."

"Why don't I bring you to Seventh Heaven after our shifts are done?" she suggested. "She's working there tonight."

"Professor!" Axel dashed to Aerith's other side, bending down to meet her sparkling eyes with his widened aghast ones. "You'd go to Seventh Heaven to see Imani without me? You'd go to see her while knowing I'm stuck here until three in the morning?"

Aerith shrugged him off with a smile. "You'll live, Dr. Flynn. You'll live."

"Are you and Imani going out?" Terra asked, arching an eyebrow at Axel's unusual behavior.

He shook his head, straightening up and pushing the door to the cafeteria open for them. "Not yet."

"Confident, aren't we?" Aerith remarked.

"Your husband-to-be's not gonna bring me down," he declared.

Terra silently watched Aerith and Axel converse as they advanced in line towards the food bar. The redhead struck him as a player-type of guy—one who had a different girl on his arm every week—but he'd never actually heard of an instance when the young intern had been romantically involved with anyone. Axel's studies probably took up the majority of his time.

"Got any pointers you can give me, Professor?"

"Pointers for Imani or for Zack?"

Who was this Imani that she could keep the prodigy's attention and fire up his determination? Terra's curiosity peaked at the thought of meeting her.

* * *

Kairi felt a chill go down her spine as Sora grabbed her hand after throwing away his soda cup. His hand was icy and damp and she had half a mind to take his hand in both of hers and rub some warmth into it. She almost wanted to tug her hand away…but not really.

Sora towed her to the escalator and asked, "How're we gonna get Roxas and Nam together?"

She bit her lip and hummed in thought. "What about a study date?" she suggested…but then a thought hit her and she grimaced. "Oh, but I don't know what classes Roxas has…"

"Me neither," he sighed. "Too bad there aren't any festivals or special events happening on campus anytime soon…"

Kairi was just about to nod in agreement when another thought hit her. "Wait! There's a Struggle tournament coming up!"

She watched his eyes light up. "Oh yeah! That's…next, next week, though…"

"Oh…" She grimaced again at both the truth of the detail and the way his eyes dimmed. "But still! If they're not together by then, we can use it as a back-up!"

"Yeah…" he trailed off. "Now we need an actual _plan_…"

Silence colored in the moments after his words. The two of them stepped off the escalator and walked aimlessly…

She blinked, slowing to a stop in front of a pair of glass double-doors. "Hey, let's look in here."

Sora stopped next to her. "Here?"

"We have to look for a wedding present for Aerith and Zack," she said, grinning up at him.

He arched an eyebrow. "The wedding isn't until November."

She shrugged, pulling him to the doors and using her free hand to push one open. "Still. Mind as well get it out of the way, right? We'll be busy with studying and stuff."

The air-conditioning of the store made her skin tremble with goosebumps. She hummed under her breath, taking in the shelves of various home accessories on one side and the large room displays on the other. "What should we get them?" she asked Sora, letting go of his hand and wandering towards the accessories side.

"I don't know," she heard him say.

Kairi sighed. Alas, her boyfriend was one of the many men in the worlds who showed little to no interest in shopping. It appeared she would have to do all the work here.

She took her time walking down an aisle of vases and decorative containers and then back towards the middle of the room through an aisle of random wall-hangings…until she spotted a slender coat rack. The wood was smooth under her fingertips. "Sora?" she called aloud without taking her eyes off the rack.

"Hmm?" Sora replied, his feet scuffing the tile floor as he made his way to her side.

"Would they use this as a married couple?" Kairi pointed to the coat rack.

Sora tilted his head to the left, tilted his head to the right, grabbed hold of the rack, hummed pensively…then grabbed her hand and declared, "Role-play!"

"Wha—"

He jogged to the room displays, forcing her to jog along with him until he led her to stand in front of the sink of a kitchen display. Sora let go of her hand and hurried around her to step out of the display. "Honey, I'm home!" he called, shuffling into the room and rubbing the back of his neck with the hand that wasn't holding on to the coat rack he carried. "Is dinner ready?"

Kairi gaped at him for a few moments before it clicked. She spun on her heels and began fiddling with the stove dials, a smile growing on her face. "A-Almost, dear."

"Okay. Let me just hang my coat on this coat rack Sora and Kairi bought us for our wedding." Over her shoulder, she watched him set the coat rack down and pretend to shrug off a coat and hang it on one of the rungs. After he "hung" his coat, Sora stared at the rack and frowned. "Eh. I can't picture them using this."

She had to agree. It was a nice coat rack, but she didn't think it suited Zack and Aerith. Did Zack even wear coats? "Looks like we'll have to look around more," she said with a shrug.

He nodded, picking up the coat rack and striding to her side to take her hand and lead her back to where they found the coat rack. "Alright, honey. We must find something we'd use as a married couple!" he proclaimed.

"That we must, dear!" she cried. "Ooh! What about these lovely dish towels?" She dashed away from his grasp and towards a shelf stuffed to the brim with towels of all colors and all prints, running her fingertips across a random set of blue towels.

"Those are indeed lovely, honey." Sora popped up next to her, yanking a few from the stack and holding them up to her face. "They match your eyes. Let's go wash the dishes!"

"Okay!" They jogged back to their kitchen and skidded to a halt at the sink…the empty sink. "Oh! There aren't any dishes to wash," she exclaimed.

The towels fell from his hands and landed on the edge of the sink softly. "Hmm…Did someone wash them behind our backs?" He twisted his lips in a frown and furrowed his brow, tilting his head pensively. "I could've sworn this sink was filled to the brim with the dishes we used to eat that delicious dinner you made."

"You mean the dinner I made with this stove and this oven?" Kairi waved one hand with a flourish at said stove and oven as her other hand turned the temperature knobs randomly.

"That dinner," Sora confirmed with a snap of his fingers and a nod. "What did you put in it?"

"Let me show you!" She grabbed the fallen towel and his wrist with one hand, leading him back towards the shelves. As she wove in and out of the aisles, she snatched random bottles and packages, exclaiming, "I put this and this and this and this in it."

They stopped at the end of the shelf and examined what she'd grabbed: maple syrup, spicy mustard, uncooked spaghetti noodles, lavender potpourri, and apple-scented dish soap.

"Huh." Sora's spiky hair tickled her ear as he tilted his head again. "No wonder it tasted so…great."

She raised her eyes to glance at him uncertainly. Awkward…

Thankfully he broke the awkwardness by taking the things she'd grabbed and placing them on a random shelf, stretching his arms above his head, and faking a yawn. "I'm tired. Let's go to bed."

She blinked…then blushed. Bed?

When his hands came back down to his sides, he took one of hers and shuffled to the bed displays with her. Not long after, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her down onto the nearest bed. "Goodnight, honey."

Kairi could only stare wide-eyed at the stitching in the comforter and bury her face into his shoulder. She was on a bed with Sora. A _bed._

"What?" He pulled back slightly and pouted at her. "No goodnight kiss?"

"Excuse me."

She turned from him and shrank at the sight of one of the sales associates glaring down at them. "No lying on the display beds," the woman told them sternly.

Immediately Kairi tore away from Sora and scrambled to her feet, ducking her head in a sort of apologetic bow. "S-Sorry."

As the woman clacked away from them on her heels, she could hear Sora stand next to her and sigh. "What a rude awakening. Oh well." A pair of lips landed on her cheek. "Good morning."

He began walking towards the aisles again…and she smiled. How nice married life must be.

* * *

He needed a car. Or more exercise.

Demyx took a moment to lean face-first against the glass door leading into the radio studio, his breath fogging up the glass and puffing against his cheek. Taking the bus just wasn't cutting it anymore. That nine-minute relaxing walk from the bus stop to the studio that allowed him to clear his mind of any nonsense that happened during the day before work was anything but relaxing when he had to run with all his textbooks and get to the studio before—

He leapt away from the door at the sudden knock on the glass where his forehead rested. On the other side of the door was a girl with blond bangs that covered half her quizzical, on-the-verge-of-smiling face. _What're you doing? _her light blue eyes asked silently.

Ah! Just the person he was hoping he'd run into. "Arista!" he exclaimed with a grin, pulling the door open so she could shuffle outside to join him. "Hey! I wanted to ask you a favor."

Her eyebrow—the one not hidden behind her bangs—rose. "What is it?"

"Are you free on November eleventh?"

Please say yes please say yes please please ple-e-e-e-e-ease.

She hummed, biting her lip and squinting her eye in thought. "I'm…pretty sure I am. Why?"

Exhaling in relief, Demyx adjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder. "My best friend's cousin is getting married and they need a DJ. Think you'd be up to it?"

"Why don't you do it?"

"I'm already emceeing."

"Oh." He watched her run the sentence through a few times, her eye narrowing suspiciously as she peered at him. "Wait. Did…"

Ah, despite working together for only a few months, she knew him too well. He chuckled awkwardly, reaching up to scratch his cheek. "Yeah."

Demyx caught glimpses of her whole face as she shook her head and smiled. "That's what you get for supplying your own cell number for the business directory, I guess…"

"I know, I know. I learned my lesson." He waved away the subject and watched her expectantly, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "So-o-o-o…?"

Arista reached up to straighten her bangs and said, "I'll do it."

Success! "Great!" Instantly he withdrew his phone from his jeans pocket and flipped it open. "Lemme give you the bride's number."

She swung her backpack around and fished out her phone, handing it to him so he could plug in the numbers. "She's not a bridezilla, is she?"

"No way. She's the nicest person _ever._" He handed back her phone. "Tell her I recommended you."

With a nod she peered at the new number. "Aerith," she read…and sighed. "Nice. Another 'A' name to remember."

He breathed in deeply, relief coursing all the way to the tips of his toes. Thank goodness Arista said yes. He was sure she would—she'd always been able to help him—but…gosh, what if she didn't? He would've had to ask someone else to do it…one of the other DJs…but he wasn't as close to them as he was to Arista. What if one of them refused? What if they all refused? What if he couldn't find a DJ for Aerith? What a bad best friend to Imani he'd be! He wouldn't deserve to be called the Prince of Awesome!

Oh, the _horror!_

He let both hands rest on her shoulders and gave her a slight shake. "You," he began in all seriousness, "are a life-saver. No, you're a marriage-saver. You saved Aerith's marriage. Thanks _so_ much, Arista. Thank you thank you thank you."

"Uh, sure, Dem."

* * *

**Author's Afterthought: **So...who's Arista? If you know your Disney movies, I'm sure you can figure that out. There's a hint or two up there. Cookies to whoever can figure out who she is. :)

And, no, she's not necessarily Demyx's other-half. You'll just have to keep reading to see who he ends up with. ;)

Thank you for reading! Please leave a review! I promise I'll upload the next chapter sooner than I did this chapter.


	16. Falling to New Lows

**Author's Comments: **Hello! So it's been about a month since I last updated. Not bad, huh? Just finished with this chapter last night. Hope you like it!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Kingdom Hearts_; its theme _Sanctuary_ by Utada Hikaru; _Home Improvement_; _Dharma and Greg_; _Boy Meets World_; the italicized lyrics to Esperanza Spalding's _Fall In _and Mike Posner's _Cooler Than Me_; or the books _Brisingr _by Christopher Paoli and _The Toss of a Lemon_ by Padma Viswanathan. I own Imani.

* * *

_In you and I, there's a new land…_

The sound of her ringtone overlapping the tinny rumbling theme song of _Home Improvement _from her laptop drew her attention away from the half-folded crane in her hands. She grabbed the phone, glanced at the caller ID, and put it on speaker. "You're up early, Dem."

"Crane count!" he chirruped.

Imani's eyebrows rose. Awake at eleven-thirty-two in the morning _and_ cheerful? Zexion must have gotten him breakfast from Sweetstack. "Five-hundred ninety-two."

"I thought Larxene and Xigbar weren't helping anymore."

"Even if they _were_ helping, the count wouldn't be much higher."

"But Zex and Riku and me haven't been doing anything lately, either."

She smirked at a comeback from Jill to Tim and tossed the finished crane into her bag. "You know what college is beginning to teach me? Procrastination."

"Psh." She heard him wave away the statement with his muffin-bearing hand. "It's not like you _need_ to study much with that freaky memory of yours."

"It's still procrastination." Swiftly she snatched another foil square and began folding. "I can't focus on schoolwork anymore. I feel like I have to take a break every hour or so to fold cranes while watching old sitcoms. I just finished _Dharma and Greg_ yesterday and now I'm starting on _Home Improvement, _if you can hear it_._"

"You should watch _Boy Meets World._"

"I'm thinking about it. _Home Improvement _isn't as funny as I remembered."

"But you'll keep watching it because Randy gets really cute later on when he's all grown up."

Oh boy. Zexion definitely got him a creampuff. Two, maybe. They were filling his mouth with all sorts of nonsense this morning. "Demyx…"

"No, you're right. Randy's cute, sure, but he's not your type. You like the mysterious, dark horse, sexy guys like Axel."

She rolled her eyes and nearly slapped a palm to her forehead in exasperation. Just how much sugary food did Zexion get for him? "Put the fruit tart _down_, Demyx."

"You gotta be like Greg."

A sigh slipped out of her mouth. What was the point anymore? Demyx probably consumed too much sugar for her to try to egg some tact into him. "Greg?" she drawled.

"Greg Montgomery_._ From _Dharma and Greg_."

"In what way am I supposed to be like Greg?"

"You gotta take a chance with Axel!"

"Demyx," she lowered the volume on her computer and tossed another crane into the bag, "do you remember what kind of _chance_ Greg took with Dharma? They got married on their _first date_. They went to a baseball game to listen to organ music, flew to Reno just to eat blueberry pie, then got married in Vegas!"

"Yeah! How much more spontaneous and awesome can you get?"

"Demyx, are you crazy?"

"What? I'm not telling you to marry him yet."

"_Yet?_"

"I'm just saying you have to take a chance! Things'll work out. They did for Dharma and Greg."

"Because they're fictional! They had screenwriters to produce their happy marriage."

"And you have me! You have the Prince of Awesome on your side!"

Imani sighed. He just wasn't going to get off her back about this, was he? "Remind me why I told you about Axel."

"I'm your best friend and I'm totally pro at romance."

Unless…

She hesitated. It would be a low blow, but it'd kind of be worth it, right?

No. The more she thought about it, the more sure she became. It would be worth it. Especially since it was _Demyx_ she was talking to, it would be worth it. "The first part I can agree with. Not sure about the second."

"What?" he squeaked. "I have my own radio show completely about romance!"

"Alright, Mr. I-Know-Everything-About-Romance, tell me this: If you're such an expert on love, why don't you ever try getting into a relationship of your own?"

There. She did it. She said it. She waited for a response but all he gave her was stunned silence…until he told her, "I'm busy."

"You're _busy_," she repeated, a touch of cynicism burning her tongue and a hint of guilt slithering down the back of her head. She ignored both. She had to bring this up for him.

She heard him fumble for words for a few moments before giving a defeated sigh of his own. "Ouch, Imani."

That was enough. Imani bit the tip of her tongue to keep herself from apologizing and instead asked, "You're coming again tonight, right?"

"Yup!" he replied happily as if she didn't bring up the subject at all. "Me, Roxas, Zex, and Axel."

Demyx pushing aside the subject didn't surprise her, but hearing Axel's name made her heart stop…and drop. "Really?"

"Yee-up! It'll be fun!"

Her fingers trembled and she couldn't fold the crane correctly. She was working tonight…and so was Larxene. That was going to be a _blast._

"So I'll see you later yeah?"

"Yeah," she quickly answered. "I'll see you later."

* * *

She only allowed her eyes to skim across the glossy pages of her textbook and flit to her notebook occasionally so she could take notes. She did not allow them to venture anywhere else. The textbook and the notebook were the safe zones. If her eyes strayed even an inch outside the boundaries, they always, _always_ darted to the blond boy sitting across the cluttered table from her. It was upsetting.

Her lips twisted into a frown. She thought she was doing so well with being around him! She thought she had grown accustomed to his smile and his blue eyes and his boyish good looks. She was sure she had.

What was it about Roxas that made him incredibly dreamy today? He was wearing glasses—rectangular, dark-framed glasses. They made him look so studious and focused…and even a bit mischievous if he glanced a certain way—

"Namine?"

Her heart leapt at his voice. With too little effort she tore her eyes from her textbook and gave him a smile that she hoped covered up her embarrassment and left no hint of what she was thinking. "Y-Yes?"

"How well do you know the bride and groom of the wedding you invited me to?" he asked, those blue eyes blinking behind those glasses of his.

"Well enough, I suppose," she managed to say without stuttering, shrugging lightly. "I've known them almost as long as I've known Imani. They're both like her older siblings, really."

He drew his eyebrows together. "Do you know what they'd like for a wedding present?"

As her heart slowed with relief (thank goodness she didn't get caught thinking about him), she pondered his question. "Hmmm…Oh! A vase!" She beamed at him. "Aerith loves flowers."

"What about the groom?"

"Zack loves seeing Aerith happy and what often makes her happy is having a fresh arrangement of flowers around."

Roxas tapped the end of his pencil to his cheek pensively. "I see…Wonder where a good place to get a vase would be…"

"Why don't we make a vase for them?" Namine suggested.

"_Make_ a vase for them?" He shifted in his seat, his eyes alit with interest. "You and me?"

"Yeah! We can go to one of the art rooms on campus and I can ask Professor Lexaeus if he'd help us with the firing after we've molded the vase and then when it's done we can paint it and—"

She stopped, taking in the way Roxas stared at her with wide eyes and eyebrows nearly touching his hairline. Oh, she was rambling! Rambling about art to Roxas and probably sounding like a complete dork! Heat rushed to her face and she shrank in her seat, fiddling with her pencil and studying the pattern of her skirt. "O-Or we can do something else…or we can get them separate gifts…"

"I like that idea."

His words made her heart swell. She glanced up shyly. "You do?"

"Yeah, I really do." He nodded with a hesitant smile. "It's just…I'm not really that talented in the art department compared to you. I don't want to ruin it."

"You won't ruin anything," she quickly assured him. shaking her head so fervently she almost became a bit dizzy. "Really."

He chuckled nervously. "Well…How long will it take to make a vase?"

She shrugged. "It depends. If we can put in a few hours throughout the weeks until the wedding, we should be able to finish it in time. When are you free?"

"I work tomorrow, but I'm open Tuesday after school."

"Can we meet at the art building for a few hours, then?"

"Great. My last class ends at two-thirty."

"Alright." She smiled, her heart swelling with anticipation. "Next Tuesday at two-thirty-ish in front of the art building? The ceramics room is usually free that day."

Roxas nodded with a beautiful smile. "Can't wait."

With that Namine returned to her textbook. Neither could she.

* * *

He tossed his keys in the small dish near the door and shrugged off his jacket, stretching out the kinks in his neck and heaving a tired sigh. Thank God he didn't have to work at the bar tonight. Training drained him of whatever energy was necessary to deal with rowdy customers.

He dragged his feet down the hall into the kitchen to grab something to drink. The smooth scatting of Esperanza Spalding (Aerith's latest favorite musician) wafted through the air of the apartment along with the sound of papers being shifted. After grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, Zack poked his head into the living room and found Aerith sitting on the couch, surrounded by stacks of papers and pamphlets and notebooks.

"Hey," he called quietly, unscrewing the cap and taking a sip.

"Hi," she replied distractedly. She scribbled something the paper she'd been reading before placing it atop one of the stacks. "How was training?"

"It was alright."

"That's good."

He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. "How long have you been sitting there?"

"Since this morning." Aerith took another paper and scribbled more.

"Please tell me you took a break for lunch."

"I ate."

"That's not what I mean."

"There wasn't time to take a break."

Of _course_ there wasn't. He sighed, stepping into the living room and putting his water bottle down before striding to the stereo system and cutting off the song in search for track three. Once he heard the piano, he turned to his unfazed fiancé and carefully plucked the paper and pen from her grasp, grabbing her attention and her hand.

"Zack, I have to—"

"Not now."

"But—"

"If it makes you feel any better, think of this as practice for the wedding." He pulled her close, wrapped his arm around her waist, and began swaying with her.

"_Don't worry if we fall in love. We will never touch the ground…"_

Aerith sighed and leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Just this one song…"

* * *

The moment they walked in, Larxene cheered mentally. Imani _wasn't_ lying—Axel really did come today. Volunteering to take tonight's shift just became worth missing her favorite TV show and leaving behind that tub of ice cream in the freezer.

"_I don't care where they sit tonight,"_ Imani had told her before disappearing into the kitchen. _"You can take care of them. Just don't pick on Demyx."_

Of _course_ she wouldn't pick on Demmy. If she did, he'd complain and Imani would come out of hiding and Axel would see her and Larxene would have to spike someone's drink in order to drag his attention away from the bi—

Ahem.

Donning her sexiest smirk, she strode over to their table and stopped next to Axel's seat. "What'll it be, boys?"

"Blue Hawaiian!"

"And two waters and a beer."

She nodded, leaning down slightly to Axel. "What can I get for you, Axel? It's on me."

"Really?" Axel purred, his eyes gleaming. "Anything?"

"_Anything_ for you," Larxene cooed, leaning even further.

"In that case…" He shifted in his seat so he could face her better…and jerked his head towards the bar. "Can you get Imani to come out and say hello?"

Her gut twisted uncomfortably. "Imani?"

"Yeah. She works tonight."

It wasn't a question. He was sure of it. He knew Imani was here and he wanted to see her.

A spark of irritation ignited in her brain. He wanted her to get _Imani?_ The nerve! Here she was, dressed in the lowest-cut shirt she had, practically _throwing_ herself at him, and he wanted her to fetch _Imani?_ "Let me see what I can do," she forced out, quickly turning around so he wouldn't catch her grimace.

"Thanks," he called after her as she stormed to the kitchen.

Ooh, she was pissed off. He had the nerve to ask her such a thing! What the hell was so special about _Imani _that Axel couldn't notice all the vah-VOOM Larxene was shoving into his face? It was so incomprehensible it made her sick.

_"You got designer shades just to hide your face—"_

Larxene marched to the radio and yanked out the power cord, crossing her arms and glaring at the girl sitting at the table. "Maxie."

"Need something, Larxene?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow at her while peering at the paper square between her fingers.

"I _need_ you to stay away from Axel."

"That's what I'm doing right now."

"If you really were staying away from him, why is he asking for you now?"

Imani tore her gaze from her hands and blinked wide-eyed at Larxene. "He's asking for me?"

"Why else would I be back here?" she demanded, throwing her hands up exasperatedly. "None of this shit would be happening if you would just stay away from—"

"Ee-mah-nee!" Suddenly Demyx burst through the swinging kitchen door with a goofy grin on his face. "What're ya doing back here? Come join the fu-u-u-un!"

Larxene stared speechlessly at him. Oh. _Hell_. No. He did _not_ just interrupt her.

"You're drunk already," Imani commented lightly. "That was fast."

Drunken _douche bag _Demyx giggled and grabbed Imani's wrist, tugging her towards the door. "Come on! Axel wants to see you!"

Her manicured fingers twitched with the urge to rip her hair out—or his. Or his whole head. "Demyx! She's busy!" Larxene screeched, scrambling over to try prying his fingers off Imani. Even with Imani tugging away and resisting, Demyx's grip wouldn't. budge. a. _bit_.

"You heard her, Demyx," Imani half-growled. "I'm _busy_."

He waved his free hand and lolled his head side to side. "Pshhhh! No you're no-o-o-ot! You can do all that crane-folding stuff out here with us!"

That was it. That was _it._ Larxene had had _enough._ She let go of Demyx with a huff, spun on her heels, snatched the half-full bag of cranes, threw it in the sink, yanked open one of the sink drawers, fished out a matchbox, lit a match on fire, and held it above the bag. "Let go of her or the birds go up in flames."

She could practically hear Imani's heart drop. The tables had officially turned. "Larxene, don't—"

"_Let go_ of her." As she lowered her hand, she narrowed her eyes and flicked the edge of the bag with her pinky finger tauntingly.

Immediately Imani turned to Demyx and began to beg and plead under her breath, "Let me go. Don't make her do that, Demyx. Please!"

"But I really really really want you to come outside!" he whined, stamping his feet.

"Last warning, _Demmy_," Larxene snarled, rolling the match between her fingers. She reveled the desperation hanging in the air and sliding off her shoulders effortlessly. Oh, how she loved having _power._

Imani's shoulders slumped and her voice dropped to an urgent whisper. "_Please_ let go of me."

Demyx's face fell into a disappointed frown. Larxene smirked as she watched him slowly loosen his grip—

"Must you always cause a riot, Demyx?"

Her smirk twitched. At the kitchen door stood a mildly exasperated Zexion, a slightly concerned blondie (Roxy or whatever his name was), and an amused Axel. She nearly dropped the match in dumb shock. This was _not_ happening.

"Heyyy! This works too!" Demyx shook his head with a lopsided grin. "Zexy, you're so shmart!"

"So _this _is where you run off to whenever I come around," Axel mused to himself, his green eyes roaming the room from corner to corner.

As if the anger in Larxene's brain couldn't boil any hotter, stupid Demyx decided to wave the three to the table with long swings of his arm. "Come sit down, guys!"

A scream was building up at the back of her throat but she swallowed it and clenched her fists around the counter edge after dropping the long-burnt-out match near the sink drain. No matter how badly she wanted to punch someone in the face (Demyx, Zexion…hell, even Imani) she couldn't because Axel would see her. She felt her power slipping out of her grasp faster than lightning.

"Demyx, you guys aren't allowed back here," Imani muttered darkly, getting up from her seat and taking the bag of cranes out of the sink and back to the table.

"I believe we are," Zexion cut in. "Xigbar was the one who suggested our relocation."

Xigbar? Ooh, that _asshole_.

"Where's mah Blue Hawaiian?"

"Right here."

"Thank ya, mah right hand mannnn. Sit here, Axel! Imani'll sit ri-i-i-ight next to ya! The table's kinda crowded, but that's fi-i-i-ine. We can all fit! OOH! Maybe Imani can sit on Axel's lap! That'll save space!"

She couldn't hold it in any longer. She parted her lips and drew in a sharp breath—

"Fine. If you're going to hang out back here, make a few cranes between drinks while I keep an eye on things outside."

Larxene's words died on her tongue. The exasperation and frustration in Imani's voice was so heavy she felt it slap her in the face. Every guy looked like he'd been slapped, too…except Demyx.

"Oh no you don't," he laughed, reaching out to grab her wrist and missing by several inches. "You're gonna hang out with us."

"Xigbar can't be left alone out there."

"But there isn't anyone else in the bar."

"Exactly. He'll do something stupid if he doesn't have anyone to mix drinks for." Imani glanced at the slate-haired man as she made her way around the table towards the door. "Keep an eye on things, will you, Zexion?"

"Of course."

"But—"

"I don't want to hear it, Demyx."

The thud of the door as she pushed it open sounded louder than a gunshot as it followed her sharper-than-knives words. Larxene had to blink to make sure she wasn't imagining things. Demyx pissed Imani off and she left. Axel was staring at the kitchen door. Larxene was free to spend all her attention on him now that Imani had been kicked out of her safe haven to keep Xigbar company outside.

"That went well," someone commented dryly.

Larxene couldn't agree more. She smiled, plopped down in Imani's old seat, and reached for a paper square. "Want me to teach you how to make a crane, Axel?"

* * *

"So Xion," the girl named Kairi addressed her as soon as Sora and Riku left to order the food at the counter, "Riku said you kinda just moved here. How do you like Hollow Bastion so far?"

Xion shrugged, folding her hands together beneath the table. "It's nice. It's a little more busy than Twilight Town, but I kind of like that."

"Same here. It took me a while to get used to." The other Xion met earlier—Namine—nodded in agreement. "Riku also said you enjoy reading. What are your favorite books?"

"Right now I'm reading _Brisingr_ by Christopher Paoli. It's not my favorite, to be honest, but it is a good read. There was a book I read a few months ago that I really liked…What was it called…?" Xion's brow furrowed as she racked her brain for the name of that one…book… "Oh!" She snapped her fingers. "_The Toss of a Lemon _by Padma Viswanathan."

Kairi nodded while Namine's eyes lit up. "I've heard of that one. One of my classmates said that book was really good. I've been meaning to read it but I haven't had much time lately."

"I highly recommend it."

"I'll have to look for it at the library soon…"

When Riku suggested grabbing a bite to eat with his friends earlier, she had hesitated. What kind of people did Riku hang out with regularly? How much had Riku told them about her? Would they treat her a certain way because she was still in high school? So many questions flooded her mind, but the reassurances from Riku dispelled her uncertainty enough for her to agree.

A corner of her mouth quirked upward. She was certainly glad she did. His friends were so welcoming and easy to talk to and get along with. She felt a bit stupid for thinking _Riku_ would be friends with _jerks_. "So…how'd you guys all meet?" she asked the girls.

"Me and Nam are cousins," the redhead began, wagging a finger between her and the blond girl sitting next to her. I've known Sora since birth and we met Riku in middle school. Nam moved to Hollow Bastion around that time and we've all been together since then, even though Nam went to a different middle school at first."

"Wow…since middle school…" It must've been nice to have such long-lasting friendships. Xion hardly talked to anyone from Twilight Town anymore. "Did any of you ever end up…liking each other?"

Suddenly, Kairi's face turned a mild shade of red. Namine immediately answered, "Sora and Kairi just started going out a few weeks ago but they've been in love for _years._"

"Namine!"

"I think Riku used to like me in high school…but I don't think he does anymore."

Xion cocked her head to one side slightly. "What makes you so sure?"

Namine smiled, a strange light illuminating her blue eyes. "Intuition."

Intuition…? What was _that_ supposed to mean?

Before she could ask, the strange light disappeared from Namine's eyes as she flicked them to her cousin. "Why don't you tell Xion how you two finally got together?"

Kairi's face turned even redder, but her lips curled into a shy smile. "It's a funny story. Sora and I thought we were going to go out to dinner with Nam and her friend Roxas one night but the two of them stood us up…"

"By the end of the night, they became a couple," Namine finished for her with a slightly smug grin.

Xion's eyebrows shot up and she blinked in shock. Namine didn't seem like the type to scheme. "Wow. You and your friend set them up?"

"It'd been a _long_ time coming."

Kairi cleared her throat not-so-discreetly and leaned forward to half-whisper, "Actually, we're trying to set up these two other people right now."

The smugness Namine was wearing instantly vanished, replaced by a mixture of dread and worry. "Oh no, Kairi—"

"Hey, don't give me that. You don't have any excuse to tell me not to meddle in other people's love lives. You don't even know who I'm talking about yet."

"Who're you talking about, then?"

"Cloud and Tifa."

As Namine "oh"-ed with comprehension and gave in to complete agreement, Xion wrinkled her brow at the new names. "Who?"

Kairi crossed her arms on the table and delved into her disclosure: "Okay, so you know how Aerith and Zack are getting married, right? Aerith used to go out with this guy named Cloud but they realized that they were in love with different people—Aerith with Zack and Cloud with this girl named Tifa. Tifa's always been in love with Cloud but she doesn't like admitting it and she's trying to ignore her feelings. Cloud and Tifa are so in love with each other that blind people would be able to see it. Unfortunately, Cloud and Tifa are oblivious to the other's feelings."

"So me and Imani are going to try setting them up."

Xion nearly jumped in her seat at Riku's sudden interjection. "Imani?" she repeated awkwardly. The name still didn't settle well in her mouth.

"You know how Imani is Zack's cousin?" Kairi continued. "She and Zack are also cousins with Tifa. Crazy, huh?"

Crazy? No kidding. Xion tried giving her head a small shake…and another…and then tried blinking a few times…but no matter what she did, she couldn't keep all that information from going completely over her head. "Small world" was all she could say.

Riku laughed at her dumbfounded expression, ruffling her hair as he and Sora took their seats. "Do you wanna help? We could use all the help we can get with Cloud and Tifa. They're more hopeless than Sora and Kairi were."

"Hey!"

"We were _not_ hopeless!"

Xion frowned both at Riku messing up her hair and at the thought of trying to "help." She wasn't sure how much help she'd be if she couldn't remember how everyone was related to each other…but it wasn't like she had anything more exciting to do. Homeschooling didn't exactly demand all her time and she was sure her eyes would appreciate the break they'd get from reading text for hours on end. "Sure," she said with a shrug.

Riku grinned. "Great. We're going to see how our first few phases go and then maybe I can get Demyx to let you in."

"Demyx is involved in this, too?"

His silver hair swayed gently as he shook his head. "Like I said: Cloud and Tifa are hopeless."

* * *

**Author's Afterthought: **What could they possibly do to get Cloud and Tifa together? Maybe you'll find out in the next chapter! Thank you for reading! Please leave a review!


	17. Escaping Suspicion

**Author's Comments: **Ah, it's been a while. I'm sorry for the wait! I hope you're well and that you enjoy this chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Kingdom Hearts _or _Peter Pan and Wendy_ by J.M. Barrie. I own Imani.

* * *

"Cloud."

He flicked his blue eyes to his left and spotted long silver tresses, pale skin, and a pair of jade eyes—a sight he hadn't seen in a while. Of all the places to see this guy again…this was pretty random. It was the middle of the day, too. Didn't he have class or something?

"What's up?" Riku smirked. "You got a minute?"

Cloud blinked…then slowly nodded once.

Riku hopped onto the stool next to his and leaned in. "So I've got a question: How much do you get paid to model?"

He felt his eyebrows shoot up. Riku was thinking about modeling? _Riku?_

Those jade eyes hardened slightly as Riku sighed. "Look, I'm a penniless college student. I only make a few hundred munny a month through my job with the school library. I need to find another way to pay off my stupid loan otherwise I'll die of starvation before I graduate."

A thoughtful hum rumbled in his throat as he took a sip of his drink. So not much had changed with Riku other than his growing desperation…To be honest, Cloud wasn't _that_ surprised that Riku was thinking of getting into the modeling business. Riku was fully aware of how well he attracted the female population (and probably a couple of guys along the way). It was completely logical that Riku would consider using his incredible good looks for personal profit…

But what about the fangirls?

His eyes flitted back to Riku and the boy instantly replied, "If you can handle them, I don't see why I can't."

Cloud snorted. He was only able to "handle them" because he gave the modeling agency _Cid's _mailing address.

"If it gets really bad, I'll cover my face or something when I go outside." Riku reeled back slightly when Cloud quirked an eyebrow skeptically. "What? It worked when we had gigs for Melodious Nocturne."

He took another sip of his drink. Riku was set on modeling, wasn't he?

"C'mon Cloud. Help me out."

Oh yeah. A nearly-whining Riku equaled a desperate Riku.

With a sigh Cloud set down his empty glass. "You know where it is?"

"Where what is?"

"The modeling agency."

A pause. "Uh…"

Cloud rose off his stool and leaned over the counter to snatch a napkin and a pen. "I'll be at the office to pick up one of my checks Wednesday morning," he murmured as he scribbled down the address. "I'll try to get you a meeting with my agent—"

"Thanks!" Riku clapped Cloud on the shoulder and almost took the napkin before he finished writing. "See you then!"

He watched the boy dash off to talk to Xigbar further down the counter. Well. That did not seem partially suspicious at all. Not at _all_.

* * *

_Wednesday morning ;)_

Imani smirked, snapping her phone shut and extending her arm out to her side for the Fairy Godmother (she didn't mention what her real name was) to take the measurement. She glanced at Tifa's bowed head and busy fingers as her cousin smoothed out a crease of her crane.

Alright. Phase two.

She swallowed her smirk and hesitantly called, "Hey Teef?"

Tifa didn't look up. "Yeah?"

"You know the modeling agency Cloud's part of?"

"What about it?"

"It…It has makeup artistry classes, right?"

Tifa lifted her head and bit her lip thoughtfully. "I think so…Why?"

Imani broke her gaze with Tifa and glanced around nervously for show. "I was thinking of taking some."

"Really?" Tifa reeled back slightly, her eyebrows disappearing behind her bangs. "But you know how to put on makeup."

"I don't know." She lifted her arms at the Fairy Godmother's instruction to get her waist measured. "I've always wanted to try learning more and maybe doing some work with it on the side…y'know, just to make some extra money…"

"But you're already so busy with school and working at my bar."

Imani cursed mentally. Teef had a good point. What student with a part-time job trying to get into _med school_ would want to use her free time learning about _makeup?_ "Y-Yeah," Imani began, dragging out the word to buy time, "but I think it'd be a good stress-reliever. What do you think?"

It took a few long moments of consideration, but finally her cousin nodded slowly, her lips curling into a supportive smile. "I think you'd be a great makeup artist, Imani. You've got great attention to detail. If you feel you can handle balancing school and Seventh Heaven with those classes, you should sign up."

Imani cheered to herself. Smooth sailing from here. Hopefully. "How?"

"Maybe at the agency office."

"Can you come with me?"

For the second time her eyebrows disappeared. "To sign up?"

"You don't have to sign up, too," she quickly added. "I just want someone there with me…you know. For moral support."

A flicker of fear danced in her stomach as she watched Tifa visibly process her reasoning through the mirror. The flicker was soon doused with relief once Tifa nodded. "Okay, sure."

"Are you free on…" she pretended to think, "Wednesday morning?"

"Yup," her cousin chirruped. "Wednesday morning it is, then."

When Tifa bowed her head to finish folding her crane, Imani smirked triumphantly. "Great."

* * *

"Thank you for attending this meeting," Demyx addressed his fellow Operation: BET members, raising his thermos of water. "I'd like to propose a toast to the successful beginning phases of the Tifa-and-Cloud leg."

"Isn't it a bit early to be toasting anything?" his sidekick pointed out monotonously. "The scheme has only begun."

"That's why I'm toasting to the _beginning_ stages, dear Zexion. We need to keep our morale up by celebrating every success so that we remember to persevere through whatever mishap might pop up."

"Wise words, Your Highness."

Demyx glanced at Sora confusedly, quirking an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Agent Ess shrugged with one shoulder. "You know. 'Cause you're the Prince of Awesome."

"Oh! Right!" he laughed despite how strange the title sounded when Sora called him by it to his face. "Right."

"I have something else to toast to!" Kairi announced cheerily, bouncing in her seat a little. "Namine and Roxas are going to be making a wedding gift together!"

A loud surprised gasp ripped through Demyx's throat. "Really? Gah! They're making our job so much easier! Cheers to that!"

"Cheers!" Sora and Kairi lifted their drinks high along with Demyx as Zexion raised his coffee a mere inch before taking a sip.

"Gosh, I can't believe how well things are going! I'd have thought _something_ would turn out ba—"

"No!" Sora quickly covered his girlfriend's mouth with his hand, his eyes wide and his shoulders tense. "Don't jinx anything!"

"Good work, Agent Ess." Demyx nodded approvingly. "We have to keep all the negative thoughts out of our mind while we're operating."

"We can't just disregard the possibilities we don't want to happen," Zexion sighed. "We have to at least _acknowledge_ them in order to work around them."

Sora froze, allowing Kairi to pry away his hand. "Oh. That's true."

"Touché, dear Zexion—"

"Stop calling me that."

"—but when you think about it, what disaster could possibly occur that would completely ruin all chances of our target couples to get together and realize their feelings for each other?" Demyx set down his thermos and began counting off with his fingers: "We have Roxas and Namine who're _crazy_ for each other, according to Kairi and Sora. Then we have Cloud and Tifa who're also kah-RAY-zee for each other—moreso than Roxas and Namine, really, since their feelings surpassed their past romantic hardships. _Then_ you have Axel and Imani who're what? _Crazy_ for each other."

Zexion also set down his mug, crossing his arms and shifting in his seat so that he faced Demyx and could stare him dead in the eye. "But then there's Riku and Xion."

"I was just getting to that."

"Riku denies harboring feelings for Xion and Xion is still in the healing process after being inadvertently rejected by Axel."

"Riku's in denial and Xion just needs a push in the right direction."

"What if they don't like each other the way Roxas and Namine or Cloud and Tifa do?" Zexion argued, his words becoming slightly sharper. "What if, in time, they become friends but nothing else? What if the feelings that any of the other targets have die away?"

Demyx blinked in surprise. Such…such _passion_ coming from Zexion! "Wow, you're really getting into this, aren't you?"

"I'm just pointing out the possibilities."

"No! That's good! I'm proud of you."

Zexion's visible eye narrowed as Demyx nodded with a bright grin. How great it was that someone as seemingly emotionless and sometimes selfish as Zexion could have a heart that yearned to see his friends be happy with each other! It was quite a phenomenon!

"Well?" his _caring_, _bighearted_ friend and sidekick prompted, his eye narrowing to a sliver of dark blue on his pale face.

"Well what?"

"Have you been listening to a single word I said?"

"Yeah. Riku's in denial and Xion needs—"

"_Demyx—_"

"Zexion, they're meant to be. Some of the target couples might need more time than others." He shrugged with his palms facing the underside of the table's umbrella. "That's fine. They'll have all the time in the world because in the end, they'll find each other because they're meant to be together."

His bangs swayed as he shook his head disbelievingly. "What makes you so sure?"

What made him so sure? What made Demyx, the Prince of Awesome, host of the Captive Heart Show on Arpeggio 101.3, so sure that a guy like Roxas and a girl like Namine were meant to be? What gave him the certainty that any of the people he was trying to get together were meant for each other? He thought long and hard, pondering for what felt like minutes before forming the words that best summed up his reasoning: "I just am."

Zexion's glare summed up his response without him having to say anything: _Bullshit._

"Oh c'mon!" He threw his hands in the air and nearly hit them harshly on the tabletop. "You know me! I have a knack for this sorta thing! Just look at K—"

He stopped short with his arms (which were flailing everywhere as he gestured) suspended above his head in odd angles once he noticed two pairs of blue eyes watching him closely—eyes that belonged to Kairi and Sora…or should he say…Thalassa and Skye.

Da-a-a-a-ang. He completely forgot they were there.

"Look at what?" Kairi asked as Sora tilted his spiky head to one side.

"Uh," he quickly dropped his arms, sitting on his hands and hunching his shoulders, "nothing."

"No, what is it?"

"Nothing! Nothing." He snatched Zexion's wrist and twisted it so he could see his watch. "Gosh is that the time I gotta get to class I'll see you guys later!" Before anyone could react he leapt out of his seat, gathered his things in his lanky arms and _ran_.

* * *

He was glad he didn't drink last night for several reasons. One, he found it utterly hilarious to watch his former dorm mate go crazy when he became intoxicated. Two, he was responsible for giving said former dorm mate a ride back to his place (along with the other two guys he was at Seventh Heaven with). Three, while his alcohol tolerance was pretty high, there was the occasional slip-up he found himself committing and he most certainly didn't want to slip-up when Imani was around.

Besides, he didn't trust the drinks Larxene brought them. Something about the way she looked at him made him suspect she slipped in something iffy.

Axel's feet landed heavily on the stairs as he made his way down to the first floor of the library. Of course, he had all his schoolwork and medical reports and stuff to take care of today. He couldn't have afforded to try working through a pounding headache and screwed up sinuses…

He slowed as he left the staircase, his green eyes trained on a face he hadn't seen in a while—well, _half_ a face. The other half was hidden behind her book.

Detour, he decided. Rather than check out his materials for those papers, he made a beeline towards Xion, stepping towards the girl and taking a seat silently next to her. "Hey stranger."

When she looked up, her eyes widened and she jumped in her seat. "A-Axel," she stammered.

"What's up?"

"N-Not much. You?"

"Same." He nodded to her book. "Whatcha reading?"

She shifted the book so he could see the front cover. "_Peter Pan and Wendy._"

Axel arched a thin eyebrow. She kept her face hidden in her book, ducking her head slightly and slouching her shoulders. "Huh."

"I felt like doing some easy reading today," she added hesitantly.

"So how long does it usually take for you to go through a book?"

"It depends…Maybe a day or two?"

She didn't lower the book. She _cowered_ behind it, using it like a shield against him. At least, that was how Axel saw things.

His lips sank into a frown. Sure, some people thought his personality was strong and he knew he could rub people the wrong way without trying, but he thought Xion liked him. She was the one who came up to him to start conversations whenever he was in the library. He thought she was his friend. Why was she acting like this?

Well. From the way Xion kept her book up like that, Axel assumed his presence was not wanted. "Should I leave you alone?"

She flinched. "Huh?"

"Should I leave you alone?" he repeated. "You seem like you'd rather read than talk to me."

Her book wavered, bobbing up and down slightly as she shrank further into her seat. "N-No, that's not it."

Ah, the _courtesy lie_. She didn't want to hurt his feelings so she denied his statement even though she knew he was right. Yup. She wanted him to leave.

"No, no, I can go." Axel slid out of his seat. "I should probably get going anyway."

The disappointment and confusion nagged his brain, but he dispelled it with a slight shake of his head. Alright. Whatever. It bothered him, but he couldn't dwell on it right now. He had work to do—

"Wait."

He paused mid-step, raising his eyebrows as he turned to look at her over his shoulder. Hm…Her book now lay shut on her lap with her fingers curled around the spine in a tight—nervous?—grasp. She kept her eyes trained on her hands except for a few glances his way.

So she wanted to say something.

He spun slowly on his heels and walked back to her side, taking his same seat. "What's up?"

She swallowed loudly before opening her mouth to croak, "I…I…" She shut her mouth and took a deep breath. "I liked you," she blurted.

He felt his forehead crease. She liked him. Okay. He liked her, too. She was a good friend. What was the problem? Why was she acting weird around him…?

His eyes lit up and his jaw dropped an inch. Oh-h-h-h-h-h-h. She _liked_ him. Now it made sense.

Wait. But that meant that Riku's—

"Sorry." Xion leapt from her seat with her head ducked.

Immediately he reached out to snatch her elbow. "Wait wait wait," he half-laughed, half-sighed. "You can't just run off after telling me something like that."

"But—"

"No buts. Let's talk about it."

After a few moments she stopped trying to pull away from his grasp and sank back into her seat, deflating like a balloon. "What's there to talk about?" she asked in defeat.

He released his hold on her once he was sure she wouldn't run off. "You said you _liked_ me."

"Y-Yeah."

"And I'm assuming the past tense is because I mentioned Imani last week."

She said nothing but her slight flinch at the name was enough confirmation.

"I didn't know you felt that way about me at the time," he admitted, reaching behind to scratch the back of his head embarrassedly. "If I'd known, I would've been more sensitive about it. Sorry."

"You had no idea though," she quickly replied. "It's not your fault."

He frowned. Well, yeah, he didn't know…but he should've paid more attention to the signs. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She sighed, a tiny smile tugging the corners of her mouth. "Yeah. I'm actually glad you said that. It saved me a lot of trouble."

He opened his mouth…and left his jaw hanging for a few long moments. How was he supposed to answer that? _No problem_? _Glad it worked out_? No, that sounded insensitive. "Well…" he began, clearing his throat, "thanks."

Xion's head whipped up so fast he thought he heard her neck crack. "For what?" she asked quizzically.

"For telling me." He tried to erase the guilt from his mind as he grinned at her. "I hope you and me can still hang out and be friends."

"Of course!" she cried loudly, her voice ringing in the silent library. She shrank in embarrassment at the outburst.

"Good." His grin grew.

So did hers. "Yeah."

Relief seeped into his muscles and allowed him to relax. Now that that was out of the way, he could tackle the other part of the mess: "So. _Riku_."

Her eyebrows shot up and she gaped at him. "Uh…Riku?"

He stared her down with a smirk. He wasn't blind. Her silver-headed friend practically bristled at him when they first met a week ago. Riku obviously had feelings for Xion and saw him as a threat. Now that Axel knew his revelation about Imani hurt Xion, he was bound to be on Riku's list of people to murder in their sleep.

Eh. Riku didn't intimidate Axel the least, but Axel figured he could be of some help to the situation. A peace offering of sorts, maybe.

"What about Riku?" Xion asked innocently—obliviously.

"What _about_ Riku…?" he repeated, a hint of mystery lacing his words. Yeah, it was usually his style to spell things out for everyone, but he was sure Riku wouldn't appreciate that. Better to hint at things and let her figure it out herself.

"Yeah." She huffed a bit impatiently. "What about Riku?"

"What about me?"

Well speak of the devil. The man himself sauntered over to where they sat and glanced suspiciously at both of them.

"Hey," Xion quickly chirruped.

Riku's eyes narrowed slightly as they lingered on Axel for a moment longer. "Hey."

Axel merely smirked. "I think I'd better go," he commented offhandedly, standing and striding past them. "I'll see you around, Xion."

"Yeah. See you."

He waved a hand over his head without looking back. "Later, Riku."

"_Later_," he heard Riku hiss. Axel chuckled under his breath.

* * *

"Look!"

Terra hardly got a glance of Ven's head of spiky blond hair before the boy thrust a slip of paper in front of the webcam, filling the screen with blurred words and numbers. "What is that?" he chuckled, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

"It's my receipt for my ticket to Hollow Bastion!" Ven's voice announced happily. "Aqua's got the same one."

He smiled as Ven's receipt withdrew from the screen. "Nice."

"I know, right? Gah, I can't wait!" After setting the receipt down, Ven's hands went straight for his head, raking his spikes as he cackled in glee. "I can't wait I can't wait I can't wait! I wanna spar with you!"

"Oh boy." Terra sighed, shaking his head. "I haven't done any fighting in ages."

"Psh! Don't give me that!" Ven scoffed. "I bet you can still make the ground shake."

"I don't know about that."

"Whatever. You and I are gonna spar when I get back home."

"You'll probably get a better fight out of Cloud. Or Zack. Zack's been training harder."

"No use trying to talk yourself out of sparring."

"Just telling you not to get your hopes up too high," Terra said with a shrug.

He rolled his blue eyes. "Yeah yeah."

He settled back further into his chair, crossing his arms. "So what else do you have on your Hollow Bastion bucket list?"

"Uh…" Ven trailed off, tapping his fingertips on the table, "well, there's the wedding…and…"

Terra arched an eyebrow. "You're kidding me."

"Hey, none of that." He sat up in his chair and counted off with his fingers. "There's the wedding, sparring with you, catching up with Roxas and Cloud…" His own eyebrow disappeared beneath his bangs. "By the way, you're taking care of him, right?"

"Of course I am." _Not that he needs anyone to take care of him,_ Terra thought to himself. Roxas wouldn't accept much help from him when he first moved to Hollow Bastion. He seemed to value his independence. "Cloud is, too, I'm sure."

"Really? How's he doing?"

"Who?"

"Roxas. And Cloud. He doesn't respond to my emails."

He constructed his answer carefully, fishing out any words that suggested he wasn't making much of an effort to keep an eye on Ven's younger cousin. "Roxas is good, I guess. I don't hear from him much. I think school and work's been keeping him busy…unless he's gotten a girlfriend."

Terra applauded himself mentally for diverting Ven's attention as he watched Ven's face break into a wide Cheshire cat grin. "Wha-a-a-a-at?" Ven shot towards the computer so close Terra was sure he was on the edge of his seat. "_Roxas_ has a _girlfriend?_"

_Success. _"I don't know," he shrugged easily. "Wouldn't be too surprising, right?"

"Hah! I wouldn't be surprised at _all_." That grin dimmed into a smug smirk. "He's got the McCartney-Strife good looks."

Terra snorted. "But he looks exactly like you."

Ven's smirk instantly sank into a pout. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." Before Ven could respond, Terra moved on to the next part of his question: "Cloud's the same—still working for Cid and keeping his feelings for Tifa secret."

"_Seriously?_ Jeez. He's dragging it on too long." Ven leaned back in his seat, stroking his chin with one hand and crossing the other arm over his chest. "Someone should, like, set him and Tifa up on a date or something."

"Well, they're stuck together for the wedding."

"Yeah, but that's like a couple months from now. That's too far away and there's no guarantee the wedding will do anything."

"There's no rush." Terra stifled a sigh as he watched his words go in one of Ven's ear and zoom out of the other. Ven mumbled under his breath, his eyes darting unseeingly from left to right.

Oh well. Maybe Ven's determination to get his older cousin and said older cousin's object of affection together will overshadow that idea of sparring.

* * *

**Author's Afterthought: **Thank you again for your patience! Please leave a review and let me know how I did.

Also, please continue to keep the people of Japan (particularly those working to fix the nuclear reactor plants and those who resided in the Fukushima prefecture) in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you!


	18. SecondGuessing What Could Be Okay

**Author's Comments: **Yes, I know what you're thinking and I completely agree: _Finally. _I'm sorry this took so long and I hope the finished product was worth the wait. Please enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Kingdom Hearts,_ the songs "Fearless" by Taylor Swift and "I Believe in You and Me" by Whitney Houston, or the italicized lyrics of "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry and "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" by The Script. I own Imani.

* * *

Aerith smiled as she watched Zack's jaw drop. "You _forgot_ something as important as your _wallet?_" he repeated incredulously.

"What? I'm not perfect," Imani said in defense, shrugging one shoulder and sipping her ice tea.

"But you _never_ forget anything. _Ever_."

"You're making a big deal out of nothing."

She glanced to her left at Dr. Dohring and her smile grew. His arched eyebrow and glasses gave him a mixed look of curiosity and amusement. "Imani has always had impeccable memory," she explained quietly to him. "It's rare that she forgets anything."

"Ah" was all Terra said.

Zack sighed. "Well, at least Aerith was around to buy you lunch. She even took you _here_." He waved a hand around him, gesturing to the medical center's cafeteria. "You'd better pay her back."

Imani rolled her eyes as she ate a forkful of the best four-cheese whole-wheat ravioli in town. "I will, I will."

"Zack, you know I won't take her money. She's family." She turned her warm smile to Imani across the table. "Consider this a thank-you for folding all those paper cranes for the wedding."

Her eyebrows disappeared behind her side-swept bangs. "If this is thanks for that, then you should treat Cloud to dinner at Lionheart. He's been making bagfuls of them."

"Cloud knows how to make those things?" Terra asked bemusedly.

Aerith nodded with a smile. "Tifa taught him. He's quite good at it, too."

He nodded with another "ah", stabbing his salad with his plastic fork. "Speaking of Cloud and Teef, Ven seems set on getting them together soon."

Zack laughed. "Maybe you can recruit him, too, Imani," he said as he elbowed his younger cousin gently.

Imani swallowed her food before asking Terra, "Who's Ven?"

"Ventus McCartney. He's Cloud's cousin."

"McCartney…So he's related to Roxas, too?"

"Yeah. You know Roxas?"

"We became friends just recently. But anyway, if Ven's interested, he can join us."

Terra arched an eyebrow, his eyes taking on a mischievous twinkle. "You're planning something already?"

She matched that twinkle easily. "Yeah. Me, Zack, my friends Riku and Demyx…we just set the plan in action yesterday."

"Really?"

"Yeah! If all goes well, they should be spending a _lot_ more time together."

"Hmm…I'm sure that'll make Ven happy."

Aerith felt a gentle poke at her leg beneath the table. Her eyes shifted to her right to meet Zack's electrified blue eyes. _Do you see what I see?_ his gaze asked.

_ I see them talking, _she blinked calmly._ What do you see?_

He pulled the corners of his lips up in a gleeful grin. _I see them getting along very, very well._

Surprise sparked in her stomach. He didn't mean…Oh, but he _did_.

_ Don't they look good together?_ His eyebrows rose and he tilted his head slightly towards Imani and Terra.

_ Terra is five years older than Imani, _she pointed out.

_ So? Age is but a number!_

_ Then why were you so concerned about Axel's being two years older than Imani?_

_ Because he's _Axel. He narrowed his eyes and dropped his grin._ I don't trust that smirk of his._

_ Axel's a great guy, _she insisted with a quiet sigh._ He really likes Imani and he'll take excellent care of her…if you'll give him a chance to prove that._

He widened his eyes in earnest. _But _Terra's_ a great guy, too! I __know_he'll_ take good care of Imani. Can't you see their chemistry?_

She looked to them to take note of their _chemistry_…and was startled to see them staring back at her. "What are you two mind-talking about?" Imani asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," Aerith replied, reaching beneath the table to squeeze Zack's knee in a _we'll discuss this later_ manner.

"You'd better finish eating," Zack told Imani as his way of dropping the subject—for now. "Don't you have class soon?"

A clearly unconvinced Imani took another bite of ravioli, her perceptive eyes trained on her cousin for any hint of their mental conversation. _I'll remember this,_ she warned silently.

Aerith smiled. Of course she would. Perhaps she'd discuss the matter with her later…when neither Terra nor Zack was present.

* * *

He cursed continuously under his breath as he jogged across the courtyard. His class ended seven minutes late because Professor Owl just _wouldn't stop talking_ and now he would have to rush to get to the art building on the other side of the campus. _Great_.

Roxas hated being late for anything. He felt it made him seem unprofessional and irresponsible. More than that, he hated, hated, _hated_ making someone wait. It was unfair to make someone wait on him, even if it wasn't his fault that he was running late. It didn't matter if he ended up being five minutes or a whole hour late. Late was late, and he hated it.

A particularly colorful string of curses spilled past his lips as he skidded to a halt at a traffic intersection. To top everything off, he was running late for his meeting with _Namine._ He was making _Namine_ wait. What an ass he was.

He bolted across the street the second the light signaled him to cross. He could see the art building ahead. He was so close! Just a little more!

His blue eyes lit up when he spotted Namine standing at the building entrance. An extra burst of energy fueled his legs as he ran the final stretch, dashing up the steps and slowing to stop at her side.

"H-Hey Roxas," Namine said with that pretty smile of hers.

"H…Hey…" Roxas puffed, doing his best to catch his breath. His chest burned. "So-Sorry I'm late…"

Her hair flew as she shook her head fervently. "No, no, it's fine."

"Were you…waiting…long?"

"Not really."

"You sure?"

"Roxas, it's fine. Really. A-Are you alright?"

"F…Fine…" He felt his face flush as he offered her a tired grin. "I just…really hate…making someone wait…"

"I wasn't waiting long," she said with a bright smile. "I just got here about ten minutes ago."

His jaw dropped. Ten minutes? He made her wait _ten minutes?_ He made the girl of his dreams wait _ten freaking minutes?_

"Roxas?"

"I'm so sorry," he moaned as the guilt weighed heavily on his shoulders, forcing him to bend over with his hands on his knees. "My professor went on and on and I should've done something to let him know he was going overtime—"

"It's _fine,_ Roxas," Namine insisted, her hand touching his arm lightly. "It wasn't your fault. Besides, ten minutes is nothing."

His back straightened immediately and he gave her an incredulous look. "You've had to wait _longer_ than ten minutes?" he repeated.

"That's not the point."

"But—"

He was cut off by her hand as she clapped it across his mouth. With a patient smile she told him steadily, "Roxas, I accept your apology, even though you didn't need to apologize in the first place. Now let it go and let's find a room where we can start working on the vase." She pulled her hand back slightly. "Okay?"

His face flushed and he darted his eyes away bashfully. "O-Okay."

Namine giggled and turned to enter the building. "Okay."

* * *

_"I kissed a girl and I liked it!"_

Zexion spotted from his peripheral that only Xion flinched when Sora allowed his head to fall with a solid thump to the tabletop and had to hold back his snort. The whimper—barely audible over the radio—that slithered out somewhere from beneath the brunet's smashed face made the act slightly more difficult.

"Can I _please_ change it?" Riku groaned as he threw his finished, un-puffed crane into the bag. Xion hesitantly asked Sora if his head hurt from his spontaneous display of grief.

_ "It felt so wrong, it felt so right—"_

"The song's almost done," Kairi murmured absentmindedly. "Sora's fine, Xion. Don't pay attention to him."

"O-Okay…" Xion mumbled.

Riku insisted with a huff, "He's been playing the most overrated, annoying songs _ever_."

"We're not the only ones listening to this station, Riku. Myde's trying to appeal to all audiences."

Sora moaned. "I'm gonna have this song stuck in my head later on. I just _know_ it."

Zexion bowed his head further, carefully concealing his smirk. Folding cranes at Xion's house while listening to The Elixir wasn't his usual solution to post-studying boredom, but the arguments and reactions certainly entertained him and made up for Demyx's poor song choices.

"The Captive Heart Show's gonna start in a few minutes. Just be patient."

"Oh great. He's gonna switch from _overrated_ to _sappy?_"

"Stop complaining. If you want control over what station we listen to, then bring your own radio next time."

"Xion?"

"Y-Yes?"

A timid pause from Sora. "Do you have ice?"

As Xion quickly got up and scurried to the kitchen, Kairi sighed. "That's why I keep telling you not to slam your forehead. You're gonna put a dent in it eventually and damage your brain."

"What brain?"

"Shut up, Riku."

"Al-l-l-l-l-lrighty!" Demyx drew out enthusiastically on the radio. "It's that time of the day again! This is the Captive Heart Show on Arpeggio 101.3. I'm your host, Myde the Prince of Awesome, and throughout the evening I'll be playing the best mix of love songs _ever!_ Got a question? Need advice? Wanna dedicate a song to your beloved? All ya gotta do is call!"

He shot the radio a glance before moving on to the next fold and shaking his head. Demyx bewildered Zexion sometimes. Zexion couldn't believe that hearing about loves lost and found never got old for his dorm mate. Demyx was always so _eager_ to help others find love. He was always so _confident_ in his ability to bring people together.

"Let's start off the night with _Fearless_ by the lovely Taylor Swift!"

"Taylor Swift." Kairi shot the two boys warning glances. "Everyone likes Taylor Swift, _right?_"

Riku sighed. "As long as Sora doesn't start singing along…"

Sora stuck his tongue out at him, nursing his forehead with a Ziploc bag filled with ice cubes.

Zexion frowned at his crane before dropping it with the rest of the finished ones and taking another slip of paper. Being a behavioral psychology major, he suspected Demyx's subconscious was manipulating him. Indeed, Demyx wanted to bring people together in the name of love…but it seemed he especially wanted to ascertain that, if he could help it, no one ever went through what _he_ experienced.

"I love that song," Demyx sighed happily as the last notes died away. "Shall we take a caller? Hey there! This is Myde the Prince of Awesome. What can I do for ya?"

"Hi Myde."

Zexion's fingers tensed. That voice…it was…

"I'd like to make a dedication to my boyfriend for his birthday."

All conversation around him faded out as his ears honed in on the radio. He didn't miss the almost-nonexistent stumble and the faint waver in Demyx's words.

"W-Wow, then a very happy birthday to him! What's his name and what song would you like me to play?"

"His name is Eric—"

He cursed mentally.

"—and I'd like you to play _I Believe in You and Me_ by Whitney Houston."

"Sure thing! Thanks for calling and allowing us to be part of the celebration!"

As the song began to play and as Demyx reminded the listeners to phone in for requests, Zexion scoffed under his breath. Indignation burned his forehead and molded his lips into a scowl. _Thanks for calling? Thanks for allowing part in the celebration?_ More like _thanks for ruining everyone's day._

"You okay, Zexion?"

He stood from his seat and headed for the door, his hand snaking into his pants pocket for his Lexicon. "I'm fine."

"Where're you going?"

"I just remembered I have a call to make."

* * *

For once, she wished she wasn't in the kitchen.

"_Going back to the corner where I first saw you…_"

For four whole minutes, she sat still on her pile of soda crates, her shoulders slumped as she leaned back against the wall and stared into nothingness.

"_I'm not moving…I'm not moving…_"

The moment the song finished, she snapped out of her reverie and dashed out of the room and into the bar. She knew the longer she remained near the radio listening to Demyx, the greater her longing to call him would grow. At the same time, though, she knew she couldn't bear hearing his out-of-place happy voice after that song.

_"Keep an eye on him,"_ Zexion's crinkly through-the-phone voice advised earlier. _"It's no use trying to force him to admit anything. We don't know what condition he's in yet."_

"What's wrong?"

Imani halted at the voice. Axel sat on his usual stool with a glass of what looked like soda in his hand. His thin eyebrows were furrowed as he watched her with those piercing green eyes…

"It's nothing," she muttered once she realized she was staring at him and not answering his question. She moved to pass him and check on a guy sitting at one of the tables—

His hand shot out and landed on her shoulder. "It's _something_ if it's bothering you this much." He forced her to face him, his fingers lifting her chin up so she had no choice but to look into his eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked again.

If the thought of Demyx choosing to play _that_ song hadn't been eating at her brain, she'd have insisted that nothing was wrong and left his side. He was a good friend of Demyx's, too, though, and her troubled mind would plague her all night if she didn't talk to someone about it…She kind of _wanted_ to tell him. She kind of wanted to trust him with this.

"I just…I heard a song that reminded me of Demyx," she finally heard herself admitting to him.

"Which song?"

She tore her gaze from him and glanced at the counter. "_The Man Who Can't Be Moved_."

"You thought of him because of that month he spent at the pier?"

She nodded. "You remember…?"

Axel heaved a sigh. "Wish I didn't have to. I gave up trying to talk some sense into him after the first week. I couldn't stand being in the same room as him so I'd always camp out at the library to study." He shook his head with an incredulous chuckle. "I found out about his crazy idea when Zexion came to get him a jacket and we got into this huge fight…"

She nodded again as she remembered the slight edge in Zexion's visible eye when he arrived that day. She'd assumed that was because of Demyx's show of pathetic desperation…but that certainly could've added to his bad mood…

"I bet you felt pretty helpless, being his best friend and seeing him go through that really bad break-up."

The words spilled out of her mouth before she could analyze and deem that they weren't too revealing: "I called him several times every day to check on him, I bought him food and either had Zexion deliver it or took it to him myself…Other than that, I had no idea what to do. When he went to the pier and began hoping…that was my breaking point. His false optimism _killed_ me."

Her frown deepened at both the easily-given confession and the way her voice cracked. She was sure everyone who knew her back then knew how lost she was, but she'd never admitted it out loud before. The words made her tongue twist strangely and left an unpleasant taste in her mouth. "But anyway," she quickly said. "That was it. That song."

He hummed in understanding. "You okay?"

"Yeah. And he is, too." She began to make her way towards that customer again. "That's what matters."

"I can't believe I never ran into you."

Her feet froze at his words, spinning her around so she could gape at him. "What?"

"You said you brought him food sometimes. I can't believe I never ran into you." He was smiling brilliantly at her. "I could've met you sooner."

She really, really liked his smile…

With a slight shake of her head, she snapped out of her daze _again_ and shrugged. "That wouldn't have been a great time to make new friends. I could hardly figure out how to help Demyx and I'm sure you were busy studying."

He tilted his head in an _I-suppose-that's-true_ way but still told her, "I would've made time, though."

Her heart skipped a beat at those words. "Well, can't change the past," she quickly replied, clearing her throat embarrassedly.

"You're two for two."

"But…" she allowed an honest smile to light her face as she backed away from him, "I'm glad I got to meet you at all."

As if his smile couldn't get more brilliant, he added a small chuckle and Imani felt her knees quiver dangerously. "Me too," he said.

* * *

**Author's Afterthought: **I had that song by The Script on repeat for at least a week or two. Sure, the idea is stupid, but it's romantic, too...in a heartbreaking way. Anyway, I digress. I hope you liked this chapter! Please leave a review! Thanks for reading!


	19. The Headaches

**Author's Comments: **Yes, yes, I know, and I agree. _Finally._ Thank you so much for waiting patiently. Hope you enjoy reading!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Kingdom Hearts _or _Final Fantasy. _I own Imani and Aden.

* * *

Somehow, writing off Imani's sudden interest in makeup as another display of her ambition and growing independence didn't sit well in Tifa's mind. She could understand that Imani was concerned about paying for school, but for Imani to turn to _makeup artistry_ seemed weird. The girl hardly wore anything more than eyeliner and lip balm. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Tifa couldn't help asking as the elevator doors slid shut.

Imani glanced up at her. "Why? You think I shouldn't?"

Tifa shrugged. "You're so busy already. You've got school and you work at my bar five nights a week…and you're putting in so much time trying to help Aerith with her wedding…" She sighed. "I just don't want you to overwork yourself."

Her cousin hummed thoughtfully as she nodded. "Well, if it'll make you feel better, how about I just ask about the program today?" she suggested. "I'll think about it a little more and make a decision later."

The worry that chewed at her brain disappeared immediately. "That sounds like a good idea," Tifa said with a smile.

Imani smiled back. "Okay."

Relief (and triumph) washed over her. Tifa mentally patted herself on the back for successfully looking out for Imani. She was sure Zack would've had the same concerns and she just knew Aden wouldn't have approved of the possibility of his younger sister exhausting herself.

Just as she began to swim in confidence, the elevator doors slid open to reveal the pristine marble offices of Mount Olympus, the modeling and talent agency that Cloud was part of. Tifa's concerns were completely forgotten as she and Imani stepped into the lobby towards the front desk. She was careful to keep her eyes trained on the receptionist's bowed head rather than let them roam over the pictures of the agency's godlike models lest she spot a pair of piercing electric blue eyes belonging to—

_Cloud._

Tifa's heart leapt to her throat and her feet froze. The man himself stood at the end of a hallway to the right of the front desk discussing something with another man.

She scowled inwardly. Why was she so startled to see Cloud here? She knew he worked here, too. There was no reason for her heart to have reacted that way. Absolutely no reason.

"You okay, Teef?"

Tifa broke her gaze to nod for Imani with a smile plastered to her face. "Yeah. Fine."

Imani watched her closely for a moment or two before dropping her suspicion and addressing the receptionist: "Hi, I wanted to learn more about your makeup artistry classes…"

"Hey Teef."

She turned to the voice and found a pair of jade eyes and a cool smirk. "Riku." She blinked curiously. "What're you doing here?"

Riku's only form of response was the widening of his smirk. He stepped to the side just as Cloud and the other man neared them.

She saw Cloud's eyes widen as he spotted her standing before him. "Tifa…"

"Oh my…" The yellow eyes of the man he came with darted between her and Riku and lit up with interest. "Which one of these _fine_ friends of yours were you speaking of?"

A hand clapped her shoulder and pushed her forward slightly. "Her," she heard Riku answer. "This is Tifa Lockheart."

The alarms sounded off in Tifa's head as she glanced wide-eyed at Riku. "Wait. What?"

Cloud straightened at the introduction, his gaze sharpening and his shoulders tensing up. He glared at the silver-haired boy standing next to her. "Riku—"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lockheart." The man took her hand in one of his and kissed it. "I'm Cloud's manager, Hades."

"No, wait, I'm—"

"Hades, this isn't—"

"Cloud said you have great potential." Hades looked her up and down, his grin stretching across his blue face. "I can see what he means."

She withdrew her hand from his grasp and shrugged away the creepy vibes crawling up her spine. "Excuse me?" she asked disbelievingly.

"Why don't we go to my office?" he continued as he placed a hand on her back and began leading her down the hall, not at all miffed by Tifa's distrust. "We can discuss things further there. You drink coffee, Miss Lockheart?"

"I-I…" She glanced over her shoulder at her wide-eyed, half-smiling cousin. Imani merely shrugged as Riku waved a hand with that same smirk. How could they just stand there and watch her being dragged away? Why weren't they concerned? What was going on?

* * *

The moment they disappeared around the corner, Riku heaved a sigh and massaged his forehead. "Do you realize how hard it is to try to stall Cloud?"

"Sorry. Traffic was backed up."

"I swear, sometimes Cloud freaks me out with that stony silence he always does."

"At least we did it, though." She breathed in deeply and stared down the hallway. "Hope things go well…"

As he turned to the hallway, a stout man about half his size stomped towards them. "Riku Gallagher?" the man asked, pointing a finger his way.

"That's me," he affirmed with a nod.

"Hey, thanks for waiting." He held out a hand for him to shake. "The name's Philoctetes, but just call me Phil."

"Nice to meet you." He shook his hand and glanced down at Imani. Not an ounce of surprise ran through him as he watched her eyes widen and her jaw drop. He could almost hear her scream, _Wait, really? Really?_

He sighed quietly. "I gotta pay off the student loans _somehow,_" he muttered under his breath.

"Okay, Riku. Let's head to my office and we can discuss your contract." Phil turned and stomped back down the hall without waiting to see if they'd follow.

Riku ignored Imani's questioning gaze and trailed behind Phil calmly. There really wasn't any reason for her to be this surprised. She knew how often Riku got complimented about his looks and about all the girls (and guys, occasionally) who'd become attracted to him. Why shouldn't he try to profit from his charm? The pros far outweighed the cons, as far as he was concerned: he could finally get a car, he might never need to worry about school finances again…he was sure he'd impress Xion…

"Kairi's going to _freak_ when she finds out about this."

Imani's words stabbed his train of thought and planted a seed of panic in his conscious. "She's _not_ going to find out."

"Psh." He could hear her roll her eyes. "Good luck with that."

Riku shot her a warning glance as they rounded the corner. "You'd better not tell anyone about this."

She merely shrugged. "I don't have to. Your _unbearably_ handsome face will be everywhere within the next month, guaranteed. You'll be on the front covers of magazines and in advertisements and TV commercials…maybe even a billboard or two. Pretty soon you'll become a household name and you'll have crazy fangirls stalking you."

That seed of panic quickly shot up into vines, constricting his confidence. He grimaced. "Shit, you're right."

"But hey, you gotta pay off those pesky student loans _somehow,_" she went on, patting his arm gently. "At least you're not making porn movies. I'd have to disown you as a friend if you ever did something like that."

Riku looked at her incredulously as she strode into the office before him. Talk about awkward. Who the hell _said_ things like that so casually?

She shrugged again. "Just saying."

He heard Phil chuckle and quickly apologized: "Sorry about her."

"Nah, it's fine," he said with a wave of his hand and an amused smirk. "In fact…if you're interested, miss, we could set up a contract for you, too. You look like you got great potential."

Imani drew back in mild shock before laughing. "That's flattering, but no thank you."

"You sure? You could make a couple hundred extra munny per shoot."

"I'll pass. I'm sure you'd make much better business with Riku, anyway."

"Whatever you say. Have a seat while I look for a blank contract…"

Riku reached up to rub his forehead again as he slumped in the seat next to Imani. He could feel a headache coming. What had he gotten himself into?

* * *

Cloud was not happy.

"I'm tellin' ya, babe," Hades went on, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet soundly on his desk, "you could _easily_ make four or five digits with each commission you get. No more worrying about scraping enough cash to pay those bills and whatever."

He was not happy _at all._

"I never said I had to scrape enough cash for anything," Tifa insisted with a sigh. "The bar that I run takes up most of my time. Even if I signed with you, I wouldn't be able to make it to whatever commission I get."

Cloud did _not_ want Tifa working as a model. The fact that _Hades_ was trying to be her agent set him on edge alone, but the whole idea of Tifa possibly displaying her body in _God-knows-what_ for everyone to see made his blood boil. It wasn't just that the chance of a stalker population emerging was very, very high. It wasn't just that he knew she'd develop a greater awareness of her appearance (which, really, couldn't improve much; she was already beautiful) and could become obsessed with it.

No. What really got to Cloud was that _Tifa_ was in danger of being sucked into the modeling business. The person he cared for the most would be thrust out into the public eye. She would grab the attention of guys far better suited for her than he could ever be. The thought made his heart drop and his posture sag.

"Babe, you're wasting that hot bod of yours!"

"My name is _Tifa._"

He shifted in his chair slightly, hugging his crossed arms tighter to his chest and leering at Hades' polished shoes. Tifa's resistance comforted him a little, but he knew that as long as they were in his agent's office, Hades would stop at nothing to get her to agree.

"How about we make a deal."

Oh hell no.

Cloud spoke up for the first time since entering the office: "She doesn't want to sign on, Hades," he tried hard not to growl as he unwound his arms. "Let it go."

"Now, now, hear me out." Hades held his hands up while sitting up and letting his feet thump to the floor. "Here's what I propose: Ba—Tifa, sign with us for one month." His bony pointer finger shot up and he wagged it like a hyperactive metronome. "Just one. If, at the end of the month, you're still not impressed by all the cha-ching you're making, then we'll sever the contract. I'm pretty sure, however, that you'll appreciate the extra income enough to stay with us…but that's just me. You can decide that for yourself after the month finishes."

He watched Tifa out of the corner of his eye carefully, his grip tightening around his knees in anticipation. The conditions _sounded_ reasonable, but he just knew Hades would twist his words in the end to keep Tifa in his inventory. He started chanting in his head, _Don't give in to him, don't give in to him, don't give in to him…_

"I suppose…I could try for one month…"

He cursed silently.

"Great! Just sign here and we're good to go!"

Cloud groaned, collapsing into his seat and doing his best to keep his frustration from exploding. This was _staged_. There was no way Imani and Tifa would've been here at the same time he and Riku were unless there was some sort of conspiracy behind it. Obviously, those two brats Imani and Riku tricked them. He was _so_ going to get back at them for this.

And Zack. Somehow he knew Zack had a hand in this.

* * *

The moment the substitute professor finished speaking, Demyx grabbed his desk and scooted closer to where Larxene sat. The class was assigned to grab a partner and practice having a conversation in Bhujerban and he figured no one would volunteer to be paired up with her. A shame, really. Demyx knew Larxene could be a bitch, but she had her moments of subdued nastiness and she could actually be nice once in a while.

Really. Those threats to pound him in the face or electrocute his beloved goldfish were quite similar to the kind of things an older sister would say. She didn't really _mean_ to do those things…sometimes.

Larxene smirked when he plopped down next to her. "So what's new with you, Demmy?" she asked, propping her chin up with her elbow.

He shrugged. "Eh, not much."

"Ah-ah!" The substitute, Lady Tremaine, clucked her tongue at them as she passed by. "_Bhujerban only!_"

"_Sorry." _Demyx flinched at the glare and giggled nervously. When Lady Tremaine left, he shared a frown with Larxene. This particular substitute wasn't very fun. _"How about you?"_

_ "Nothing really."_ Her mouth opened wide as she yawned loudly._ "School is boring. Axel is hot. Imani sometimes pisses me off."_

His eyebrow arched up at the summary. Yeah, school did get boring at times. Yeah, if he were a girl, he'd probably think Axel was hot, too. And yeah, he'd kind of been noticing some slight tension between the two girls lately. What he was curious about was why Imani got on Larxene's nerves. _"What's the deal between you three, anyway?" _

Larxene crossed her legs and leaned back in her seat. _"I like Axel," _she said, _"and so does Imani. I can tell. She won't admit it, but you know how she is."_

Ahh…That explained everything. _"What about Axel? Is it obvious whether he likes either of you?" _he asked for the sake of seeming like he didn't know what the hell was going on.

_ "Yeah." _She grinned like a feral cat._ "He likes me."_

Demyx nearly fell out of his seat. That was the _last_ thing he expected her to say. _"He…he does? W-What makes you so sure?"_

_ "You'd see the signs."_

_ "Signs? Like what?"_

_ "Like…" _Her blue eyes wandered to the ceiling as she thought. _"He always visits the bar."_

_ "So?"_

_ "He knows I work there."_

_ "But Imani works there, too."_

_ "So? He and Imani are friends." _She scowled, muttering under her breath in English, "At least, he's _trying_ to be her friend_."_

Both his eyebrows shot up. "Huh?"

She snuck a glance at Lady Tremaine across the room before she continued. "Imani keeps brushing him off,"she growled, waving a hand. "Poor Axel. He's trying so hard to be her friend that it distracts him from me whenever we're both working at the bar."

He was sure if his eyebrows traveled any higher up his forehead, they'd touch his hairline. Talk about misreading. What was he supposed to say to that? "Ah…"he trailed off. It was all he could come up with…

And it was obviously the wrong thing to say.

Her eyes darted to him and narrowed into accusing slits as she switched back to Bhujerban. _"What? You think I'm wrong?"_

Crap. He shouldn't have trailed off. Or he should've said something different like "I see" or "that sucks." _Man_. Only _now_ he could think of something better?

_"Demmy…" _Larxene snarled. _"You think I'm wrong?"_

"_No no no. I didn't say that." _He shook his head fervently.

_ "You're thinking it."_

_ "No I'm not."_

_ "Yeah you are."_

_ "Larxene—"_

_ "Well, what do _you_ think's going on?"_ she demanded, leaning forward and leering at him._ "Tell me."_

He reeled back, holding his hands up defensively and shrugging his shoulders until they nearly touched his ears. _"I-I can't say."_

_ "Why not?"_

_ "I don't know anything."_

She moved forward and hissed, _"You're lying."_

_ "What?"_ he squeaked.

_ "You know something. You think I'm wrong."_

_ "No! No no no no no!"_

_ "Demmy—"_

_ "Class is dismissed!"_

Lady Tremaine's voice set off a burst of energy in Demyx. He snatched his bag and bolted away, calling over his shoulder, "Later, Larxene!"

"Demmy! Get back here!"

"I have class!"

"That's not important!"

* * *

That quizzical look Roxas had on his face as he joined them made Sora's smile widen. He didn't care if this looked strange. He was enjoying it and that was what counted.

"So…you do this a lot?" Roxas asked.

Sora shook his head as he settled further into his comfy seat. "Only when Luxord offers to do it for free."

"Which is not often at all," Luxord added. His thumb rubbed circles into Sora's palm and over his knuckles. Ahh, Luxord was _so_ good at what he did. If Sora were a gazillionaire, he'd totally hire Luxord just to give him hand massages. Luxord would be his personal hand massager.

Roxas arched an eyebrow at him. "So that's…when you feel like it?"

"Pretty much."

And that wasn't often enough, in Sora's opinion. "You know, Luxord, pretty soon, I'll have midterms and a lot of note-taking and essay-writing to do." Sora offered him the brightest, most innocent smile he could muster. "My hand is gonna be really, really tired."

Sadly, he wasn't swayed. "Then I suggest stretching and soaking it in warm water."

"Aww!" he moaned, thrusting his lower lip out. Maybe the puppy dog look would move him. "But that's not the same!"

"Then ask Kairi to give you a hand massage. She knows how."

Huh? Kairi? Immediately he straightened in his seat, his ears perking at the mention of the name of his most favorite person in the worlds. "She does?"

"Really, Sora?" Roxas deadpanned. "You've known her like forever—"

"She never told me!"

"Or maybe you just never asked because you were always so _enthralled_ by her beauty—"

"Hey!"

"Now, now, Roxas. Don't pick on our loyal customer."

"He's not paying for that hand job you're giving him!"

Luxord sighed. "Must you be so crude, Roxas? He pays for the nail polish for Kairi and always drops a few coins in the tip jar afterward."

Sora shrugged nonchalantly when he saw Roxas shrink back a little. Luxord was right. In a way, Sora was helping Roxas out by being a loyal customer.

"Besides," the man added, releasing Sora's left hand and motioning for the right, "at least Sora has owned up to his feelings for Kairi."

Sora's jaw dropped slightly as he switched hands. Ooh, that was a nice one.

Roxas furrowed his brow in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Only Sora's cheeky grin beat the words that leapt from his mouth. "He means you gotta make good use of your vase-making time with Nam!"

"What?" His jaw dropped completely. "How'd you know…?"

He shrugged. "Kairi and Namine are cousins, remember? They tell each other everything. And, you know. Kairi's my girlfriend."

He reveled in the way those last three words made his tongue twist. It still took some getting used to, but Sora didn't mind practicing. It made his chest swell and the corners of his lips rise into a smile. It felt good…just like hand massages.

"So? I don't tell my cousins everything."

"Why not?"

Roxas wrinkled his nose as he muttered, "One talks too much and the other prefers awkward silence."

Sora blinked owlishly. Oh. That made sense. Sora didn't have cousins, but Leon didn't like talking much. In fact, a lot of their communication was grunting back in the day—one grunt meant "go away," another meant "shut up," and then another meant "I'm ordering takeout. You want your regular?" and—

"Roxas, when do you plan on confessing to my dear cousin?"

His train of thought broke upon hearing Luxord's question.

"Not anytime soon," Roxas said.

Luxord hummed patiently. "Is that supposed to be the nice way of saying 'never'?"

"No! I mean, I'll tell her eventually…" Pink dusted his cheekbones as he averted his gaze to study the edge of the table. "Just not anytime soon."

"Right. Just be warned that if you dilly-dally too long, you might lose her…and I am sure you most certainly don't want that."

Roxas didn't reply, but Sora caught his gaze dropping to the table and clouding over as he sank in deep thought. Sora liked the idea of Namine and Roxas getting together. Namine was a really nice girl who deserved a guy who'd do anything for her…like…drinking a concoction of sea-salt ice cream, ketchup, and chili powder if it was the only way to save her from the verge of death, and he had a feeling Roxas cared enough for her to do that in a heartbeat.

Hmm…how'd he come up with that? Did he hear that somewhere…? Sora squeezed his eyes shut as he fought the itching sensation in his head that he got whenever he couldn't remember something he _knew_ he knew. Where did he hear that before…?

Drat. This was going to bug him for the rest of the day.

* * *

"Ooh!" Kairi exclaimed, carefully pulling out a dark gray knee-length ruffled dress from the packed rack. "Look at this one!"

Namine poked her head around a rack and smile when she caught sight of the dress. "That one's cute, too," she commented as Xion turned to look from her perusal of the wall selection.

"Isn't it? I think Xion would look great in this one."

Xion arched a thin eyebrow skeptically. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Kairi held up the _uber_ cute dress to the other girl, wagging the hanger to and fro. "What do you think?"

She took a moment to study the dress, tilting her head to one side and shrugging. "I kinda like it."

Kairi resisted the urge to frown disappointedly at Xion's less-than-stoked assessment. Was she not having fun? Did she not like shopping? Or maybe she didn't feel too comfortable hanging out with them without Riku? "We can keep looking if you want."

Xion nodded, bowing her head. "Sorry. I just don't really know what looks good on me. I don't go shopping often…"

"Me either," Namine reassured her with a gentle smile. "I always take Kairi with me whenever I go shopping for clothes."

"Really? But you two dress kind of differently…"

"Yeah, but that's never been a problem with us." Her cousin snaked an arm around hers. "Kairi knows what kind of clothes I like and she never pressures me into buying something I know I won't feel comfortable wearing."

A tiny smile appeared on Xion's face soon after her amazement subsided. "Wish I had someone like that back when I was in Twilight Town."

"Well now you have me. That is," Kairi added quickly, "if you'll let me help…"

She jumped when the dark-haired girl cried out and clasped her hands together. "Please! I need all the help I can get! I don't know anything about fashion!"

Kairi laughed. It was kind of cute how insecure Xion was about choosing clothes. That explained why she wasn't as confident or enthusiastic a shopper as herself or Namine. "Okay, okay, well, let's hold on to this dress and look for a few more you like. Aerith's wedding color scheme is pink, silver, and white, so this gray would go well, but we don't necessarily have to find dresses only in those colors…"

"The wheels are turning in her head already," she could hear Namine murmur to Xion amusedly as she wandered between racks and searched for styles and colors that _popped_ out at her.

"Do you know what you're going to wear yet?"

"Not yet. I was hoping I'd find something today."

Kairi skidded to a halt at the sight of a strapless dark green floor length dress. That shade would bring out her eyes really well. "Xion, what about this one?"

Xion's reaction was a lot quicker this time. "No," she said with a shake of her head. "I don't really like strapless dresses…"

"Oh okay. Good to know." She nodded, making the note in her head. "Avoid strapless dresses for Xion…What about off-the-shoulder or one-shoulder?"

"I don't mind one-shoulder…" she trailed off. "But I've never worn off-the-shoulder before."

"You'd look _great_ in off-the-shoulder. If we find a good one, you should try it, just to see whether you like the style or not."

"Okay."

A couple hit-and-misses later, Kairi found herself waiting outside the fitting room stall Xion disappeared into, exchanging eager glances with her cousin. Xion agreed to modeling the number she liked best. "Which one do you think she'll pick?" Kairi asked.

"I think…the pink taffeta one."

"That's what I was thinking, too."

Suddenly the door burst open to reveal a stunned Xion wearing the exact dress both Kairi and Namine predicted on. "You're amazing," she whispered in awe, shaking her head slowly.

Kairi squealed. The dress was _perfect_ for her! "No, _you're_ amazing. Look at you!"

She sheepishly snuck a peek over her shoulder in the mirror. Kairi could see her cheeks turn pink. "I really like it," Xion admitted, a giddy grin threatening to tear across her face.

Kairi couldn't help smiling at the girl. "I'm glad. I mean, we both really like it, too," she paused to let Namine hum in agreement, "but what really matters is whether _you_ like it."

"I do." Xion turned back to them and arched an eyebrow at Kairi. "Have you considered starting your own service as a personal shopper?"

The question caught her off guard. "Huh?"

"You're, like, a fashion genius."

"Thanks?"

"Seriously, Kairi. You could become a personal stylist."

"I agree," Namine said. "You could start your own business on the side."

"Hmm…" The idea never occurred to her. Personal stylist? Her? "You think so?"

Xion grinned. "Today was enough proof for me."

"Shopping with you for the past six years is more than enough proof," Namine added.

Wow…They seemed so confident about it. She certainly wasn't. She supposed she'd have to play with the idea later. "Thanks, you guys."

"Thank _you._ I'm gonna go pay for this after I change." With another smile she disappeared back into her fitting room.

Namine pulled Kairi into a one-armed hug. "She's warming up to us," she noted.

"I'm glad," Kairi said, returning the hug. "I really like her."

* * *

**Author's Afterthought: **So who's Lady Tremaine? She's Cinderella's evil stepmother. I thought she'd fit the role of a substitute teacher best. Thank you for reading! Please leave a review and let me know what you think.


	20. That Was Fast

**Author's Comments: **I surprised myself. I didn't think I'd come out with another chapter so soon. It's a bit short compared to previous chapters. Everyone wins, though, right? Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Kingdom Hearts_, the term "awesomazing", the songs _The Only Exception _by Paramore and _The Way You Make Me Feel _by Michael Jackson, or the song _Smile_ by Uncle Kracker and its italicized lyrics. I own Imani.

* * *

Cloud had been abnormally quiet, Tifa noticed. It wasn't like he said much at all, but the way he seemed to simmer in his seat made her wonder if something was bothering him. And she'd ask. Often.

"No" was all he grunted every time. He'd avoid her gaze and stare at the array of bottles and glasses on the other side of the counter while nursing his drink. Every time she checked on him while making the rounds in the bar, he'd always have that deep-set frown etched into his face…

And Tifa would roll her eyes behind his back. What a liar. If he wasn't bothered by anything, then he would've at least snuck a few comments between Xigbar's provocative observations. He would've chuckled at the comebacks Larxene came up with. He would've at least _looked_ at Tifa.

And if he _was_ bothered by something and didn't want anyone to bother him about it, then he should've pretended that he wasn't bothered by anything. What happened to those acting skills he had last week? _Imani_ was convinced her cousin was going crazy, so logically Cloud would've been convincing now.

Well…Maybe not. Tifa knew him too well.

"Teef!" Xigbar called from the other side of the room. "Go grab me another scotch. I'm gonna run out tonight if I don't have a backup."

Before she could respond, Cloud got up and stomped to the back, disappearing behind the kitchen door.

"N-n-n-never mind," Xigbar laughed, his eyebrows rising at the sight. "Spiky's got it."

A hand grabbed her arm and dragged her towards the counter, the nails digging into her skin. "Xiggy, shut up," Larxene hissed as she forced Tifa onto a stool and plopped down next to her. She—and Xigbar—leaned in. "So?"

Tifa massaged her arm and arched an eyebrow at them. "What?"

"Why's Cloud so pissed?"

"I don't—"

"Bullshit," Larxene cut her off. "You know him better than both of us. You can probably figure it out."

Tifa thought, biting her lip and letting her eyes wander around the bar. When was the last time Cloud seemed fine? That had to have been the other day. Yesterday…they met up at Mount Olympus, which surprised both of them. Then she talked to Hades…

Her eyes widened. Hades. The modeling contract. That was when Cloud's mood first turned sour.

"What what what?"

But why? Why would that bother him so much?

"Tifa! Spill it!"

Suddenly her pocket began vibrating. She smiled apologetically to Larxene ("You're _killing_ me, Teef.") as she pulled out her cell phone and glanced at the caller ID. It wasn't a number registered to her phone, but she flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Tee-fah! Babe! Ya got a few seconds?"

The voice sounded awfully familiar. "Who's this?" she asked just to make sure.

"The god of drop-dead beauties who just landed you your first job!"

"Hades?" she half-guessed, sinking into her seat and doing her best to ignore Xigbar and Larxene's "tell us what the hell's going on" looks.

Just then, Cloud burst through the kitchen door, slammed the bottle of scotch onto the counter, and stormed back to the kitchen without a word.

"Guess who you're working with, babe," Hades crooned into her ear. "Hollow Bastion's Most Beautiful Person for the second year in a row: Cloud Strife."

Her heart stopped. Whatever Hades was saying after that sentence went in one ear and out the other. Her first modeling commission was with _Cloud._

Quickly she shook her shock away. Don't get so excited. It was just Cloud. Tifa was going to model with her brother. No big deal. It'd be alright. It'd be fun, really.

Yeah. Fun.

"Yeah," she murmured to herself.

"Great! The shoot's on Sunday. I got a couple guidelines you have to follow until then…"

* * *

_Axel's invited to your bachelor party. _

Those six words on his cell phone screen made Zack's shoulders slump and his jaw drop. He almost slid off the treadmill belt because he'd stopped running in shock. How could he? Cloud _knew_ Zack didn't like Axel. Why did he have to ruin his bachelor party like that? _Why? _What did Zack do to provoke Cloud to do this?

After punching in a "_What the hell?" _back to Cloud, he snapped his phone shut and threw it back into the empty cup holder on the treadmill. He cursed under his breath, jamming his finger against the speed control arrow to run faster. What the hell what the hell what the hell? Zack didn't do _anything_ to Cloud.

He stewed over the conundrum…and nearly tripped over his own feet. His _cousin._ Imani was plotting to get back at Cloud and Tifa…and she did say the set-up was a success…

But _Zack_ didn't do anything! What was Cloud taking it out on _him_ for? That son of a—

His cell phone lit up and rumbled in the cup holder. He snatched it and flipped it open to read the response from Cloud…and immediately vowed to do whatever it took to get Cloud and Tifa together, no matter what.

_Aerith's thrilled that I invited Axel. :)_

Using Aerith to seal the deal was crossing the line. Cloud wouldn't get away with this_._

* * *

Curses streamed from Riku's mouth as he dashed around the corner and bolted across the courtyard. The sooner he found Sora, the sooner they could retreat to the dorm. Thank _God _he finished his only class for the day and was free to hide.

He spotted Sora strolling to their usual table with a cheery grin on his face. The spiky brunet caught sight of Riku and was about to wave when Riku grabbed his wrist and yanked him towards the dorms. "Change of plans," he called over his shoulder.

"Riku! What's going on?"

"Just run, Sora!"

"But—"

Sora couldn't finish his question. He didn't have to.

A long, frustrated groan rumbled in Riku's throat when he heard the screaming erupt behind him. He released Sora, confident that his best friend wouldn't need any help running away with him. He plunged a hand into his jeans pocket, whipped out his card key, swiped it at the door to the dorm, shoved the door open, and slammed it shut just as Sora slipped in after him. Relief washed over him as he power-walked to the stairwell and fought to catch his breath. They wouldn't be able to get him anymore.

Sora trudged behind him, asking between huffs and puffs, "Why were all those girls following you?"

"I have a hunch," Riku muttered darkly.

They filed into their dorm room and Riku opened his laptop, clicking on the internet icon. "You know how we had a mailing list to our fan base when we were still playing in Melodious Nocturne?" he began, his fingers nimbly typing in the address to his email account.

"Yeah."

"It's still active and our fans are still following us."

"Uh-huh…" he could hear Sora nod slowly behind him, "but no one uses the mailing list anymore and the only ones who know the password to the account are me and Demyx."

Riku growled. "And Cloud."

He wasn't the least bit surprised seeing an unread email from their old band's mailing list titled "From Riku." There was no point in putting off the blow. He clicked on the email…and cursed colorfully. His class schedule, school email address, and cell phone number were all listed in the email above a photo of him in jeans and an opened button-down shirt.

Sora read aloud the caption timidly. "'Single…and searching.'"

He grimaced, raking his hands through his hair and fighting the urge to scream. Damn, Cloud was fast.

* * *

"_You make me smile…_"

"Ahh, I _love_ that song. Makes me feel good." Demyx sighed with a huge grin. "That was _Smile_ by Uncle Kracker and you're listening to Arpeggio 101.3. I'm Myde the Prince of Awesome sitting in for the Genie and taking you through the workday. How's it going? Have you had lunch yet? Be sure to take a break and eat something, okay? Fuel up! Don't faint on the job! No one benefits if you overwork your body!" He shot a glance at his playlist. "Here's something to groove to on your lunch break: _The Way You Make Me Feel_ by the great Michael Jackson!"

He bobbed his head along with the drumbeats as they pulsed through his headphones. If he had to be completely honest, he wasn't too thrilled to pick up an extra shift this week at first (Genie had another gig emceeing for some luncheon somewhere), but thank God he worked at a radio station. He was surrounded by music, music, and more music. There was no other place he'd rather work overtime.

A quick movement out the corner of his eye caught his attention. He whipped his head to the door and saw Arista waving on the other side of the window with a small grin. Well, speak of the devil! There she was—the girl responsible for getting him this job in the first place. Instantly he returned the smile, waving and winking before she continued on her way down the hall.

He really owed Arista. He'd have to take her out to lunch or something one day—not just because she helped him get this job but also because she was a good friend, despite being…

Ah. He shook his head. He didn't want to think of that. He had to take a call.

"Hey this is Myde the Prince of Awesome for Arpeggio 101.3," he said soon after pressing caller number one's switch. "What's up?"

"I want to make a song request."

The voice shot a jolt of surprise up his spine, making him straighten in his seat. Was he hearing correctly? Could this really be _Cloud_ calling? "Sure," he replied, carefully leaving out his astonishment. "Anything to make your day go smoother. What d'ya wanna hear?"

A pause. "Uh…"

Oh, right. Cloud didn't listen to music much despite being fairly decent at guitar (a feat Demyx found to be both bizarre and awesome). If Demyx remembered correctly, all the music Cloud owned and knew consisted of whatever mix CDs Demyx made for Melodious Nocturne to play at gigs. "You want something upbeat?" he suggested. "Something classy? Got a specific genre?"

"Um…Play _The Only Exception_ by Paramore."

"Okay!" Yup. That was definitely on one of the mix CDs. "Nice choice."

"But not right now."

His hand froze over his mouse. "Okay…?"

"Play it when you do your love advice show later."

A loud gasp nearly escaped his throat. Could this be? Was Cloud making a love song request for Tifa? He wasn't supposed to be taking requests before the show, but this was a special case! _Cloud_ was calling! For _Tifa_, possibly! "O-Okay." He reached for a pen and notepad, jotting down the song name. "Who is this for?"

"To Axel. From Imani."

It took him a moment to process what Cloud said. Axel? Imani? Why was Cloud calling for them?

Then it hit him…and he nearly cried out in a mixture of shock and laughter. Cloud was striking back! "T-To Axel…From Imani," Demyx repeated, doing his best to refrain from snorting in glee.

"Yeah."

"Got it."

"Thanks." Cloud hung up without another word.

Demyx pinched the note between two fingers and read it over and over with a smile on his face. He figured it was too good to be true, but oh well. _Something_ was going to go down tonight. Maybe Cloud would make a real love song request for Tifa in time.

He laughed. Or maybe Imani would make it for him. His awesomazing senses told him this was the beginning of a matchmaking war.

* * *

"It came out really good, yeah?" Namine said with a satisfied grin as she turned the vase and inspected it carefully.

"Yeah." Roxas nodded, a bit surprised that the vase didn't explode or something in the process. _He_ helped mold it, after all. He figured something was bound to go wrong…but Namine's talent must've balanced everything out and saved the vase.

"I'm surprised Professor Lexaeus finished firing this already." She set down the vase on the table and her bag next to it before heading across the room where the stools were. "Well, that gives us more time to come up with a nice design."

He followed her, jogging quickly to grab the stools before she even touched one. "What did you have in mind?"

She murmured her thanks as they walked back. "I don't know. Whatever the design, though, I think we should use earthy colors. If we use bright colors, it'll clash with the flowers Aerith puts in it."

Roxas' eyebrows shot up slightly and he hesitated in his steps. Wow. He hadn't ever considered anything like that, but that made perfect sense.

"The pattern should be uniform, too," Namine went on. "And subtle. We don't want the vase to draw attention away from the flowers."

Slowly he set down the stools near their things. He was impressed. Her artistic sense definitely grew since those days of drawing in elementary school. Sure, she was majoring in art, but still. The way she thought about achieving a simple vase blew him away.

"I know!" She plopped down onto one of the stools and dropped her bag onto her lap. Her hand snuck into her bag and pulled out a sketchbook and a pencil case. "We can brainstorm with this."

He wondered what she thought about other forms of art—paintings, sculptures, film…Was there any art exhibition going on at HBU? Or at that local gallery? He'd have to look it up later. Maybe they could go together—

"Roxas?"

Her voice drew him out of his thoughts. He spotted the confusion in her eyes when he looked at her. "Yeah?"  
"You okay?" she asked.

"Fine." He chuckled embarrassedly with a nod. "I'm fine."

"Okay…" She wiped away her inquisitiveness and smiled. "Have a seat."

Roxas sat down, returning her smile. When she saw he was seated, she turned to her sketchbook and began swiping the page with light strokes of her pencil. He watched her hand move gracefully over the paper…and was entranced. There was no hesitation in her movement. It was like she knew exactly where to draw a line or shade an area.

She mumbled to herself as she drew, her voice soft and gentle. The strands of flaxen hair that fell into her face didn't deter her concentration. Her clear blue eyes were fixed on her sketch, filled with focus and determination.

If only Roxas had a camera or something to capture the moment…but then again, a picture probably wouldn't be able to give him the same sense of peace and enchantment he was feeling right now. He couldn't take his eyes off her. He couldn't shake away the dreamy surreal feeling he got when he watched her. She seemed to have cast a spell over him. How did she do it?

"Roxas?"

Once again, her voice broke him free from his thoughts (and her spell). Namine held up her sketchbook for him to see what she drew. "What do you think? Any of these stand out to you?"

He blinked his eyes blearily before looking over her drawings. She had four obscure designs that each reminded him of different things: water ripples, a starry sky, a rainfall, and a thick fog. They all amazed him. He was sure any of the designs would look brilliant on the vase.

"Well?"

Roxas shook his head, darting his gaze to Namine and shrugging. "I can't choose. They're all great. You're amazing."

"You like them all?"

"Yeah. I do."

"Wow…" Namine bowed her head slightly, a huge grin threatening to erupt on her face. "Thanks."

He didn't get why she wasn't letting herself smile. She deserved the praise. And he liked seeing her smile. Either she was humble or unaware of how talented she was. He didn't mind either way, but he still wanted to see her smile. "Sorry I can't choose," he told her apologetically, reaching up to scratch the back of his head.

"That's fine. There's no rush. We can think about it a bit more. Maybe we'll come up with something different later on." She flipped her sketchbook shut and zipped up her pencil case. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of something behind him. "Oh my goodness! Is that the time already?"

He whipped his head over his shoulder and gaped. It was five-fifty. They'd been in the ceramics room for well over two hours. "Wow," he breathed. He'd been watching her draw for two hours. He thought time had _stopped_.

"We should get going." Namine got up and began putting her things away. "Professor Lexaeus wants us out by six."

Roxas took the vase and replaced it on the shelf where they found it earlier. It was odd—a slight sadness wrapped around his heart as if he had woken up too soon from a sweet dream. "What're you doing after this?" he asked.

"I was going to get dinner with Kairi and Sora. They wanted to eat at Timeless River today."

"Mind if I tag along?"

She shot him a quizzical look and a smile. "You don't need an invitation. You're our friend. You're welcome to join anytime."

He grinned. Maybe he could prolong the dream a little. "Great."

* * *

**Author's Afterthought: **Thanks for reading! Please leave a review!


	21. At Ease, At War

**Author's Comments: **At long last, it's here. Thank you for your patience! Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Kingdom Hearts. _I own Imani.

* * *

She creased her brow as she flipped between pages. These patients were so peculiar. Physically, they were quite healthy. They could give many of the doctors at HBMC a run for their money. Mentally, however…they _appeared_ healthy according to normal standards, but—

Her files were snatched from her abruptly. "There'll be none of that here, Mademoiselle Aerith," Luxord chided firmly.

She tried to protest, "But—"

"You're not here to do work. You're here because you need a break."

"Luxord—"

"No. I don't want to see or hear of anything having to do with…" he scanned the first pages of the files, "Ansem…or Vanitas Osment." He shot her a sharp glance. "I thought you were taking off from work."

"I am," she insisted…but her guilt made her tack on, "technically."

"Technically?" He raised a pierced eyebrow at her, tossing the files into his work cabinet on top of his back stock of hair products and locking it away. "Then why were these in your fair hands? My dear Aerith, you work too hard. How does Zack put up with you?"

Aerith sighed, wiggling her toes in the footbath and patting the arms of her comfy chair. "He kidnaps me and brings me to places where I'm forced not to work."

Luxord nodded with approval. "Good man. I'll be right back."

His footsteps thudded briskly and quietly on the tile floor as he left her side. She shook her head with a smile on her face. The odds of getting any work done were very, very slim. Oh well. She supposed she had this coming for the past month…or however much time had passed since the proposal. She found she was having a harder time keeping track of the days going by. As pitiful as it sounded, as long as she remembered her own wedding date, she knew she'd be fine.

Soon, Luxord returned with a porcelain teacup. "Here you go." He held it out for her. "Be careful. It's very hot."

"What's this?" she asked, taking the cup from him and peering inside. The aroma hit her senses and immediately her heart grew warm. She knew what this was.

"Magnolia oolong tea. Zack mentioned that was your favorite."

Zack. She loved him. He knew exactly what she needed.

She sipped it slowly and offered Luxord a grateful smile. "Thank you."

He smiled back, kneeling near her feet and picking one of them up. "Just relax and enjoy yourself today."

* * *

Something told Zexion to keep his distance. Given that following this _something_ was usually wise, he chose to take a seat on the bench and observe silently. He had time. His last class of the day was cancelled, thank God. He couldn't stand Professor Owl's chattiness.

He considered pulling out his Lexicon and texting Demyx about this, but there was the chance that Roxas' careful look-over of one of the many school bulletin boards was unrelated to Namine. Perhaps the blond was searching for an event related to another friend of his. Perhaps he had free time this weekend and wanted to attend something school-related for a change of pace.

"Hey Roxas."

Zexion snorted when Roxas leapt at his name being called. Sora was jogging to his side with a cheeky grin on his face. "Whatcha do-o-o-ing?" the brunet asked innocently and loud enough for Zexion to hear.

Roxas didn't speak quite as loudly, but he ducked and shook his head of blond spikes fervently…and that spoke loudly enough to Zexion.

The slate-haired student smirked, reaching into his pocket for his phone. His eyes never left the two boys as he set up his video camera and began recording their banter. Sora ruffled Roxas' spikes good-naturedly, waving his hand to a random poster here and there. From what Zexion could remember about seeing those particular posters around campus, they advertised the latest exhibition at the Hollow Bastion Museum of Fine Arts.

There was no room for question. Only Namine could be on his mind. Excellent.

"Let's go to the student center, Rox. They're bound to have fliers you can take…"

Zexion made sure to catch the two-finger victory sign and the huge wink Sora flashed behind Roxas' back to him as they headed off before stopping the recorder and preparing to send a message to Demyx. This was sure to make his day. It certainly made Zexion's…albeit for a slightly different reason.

* * *

Xion walked around the fountain one last time, her frown growing deeper. Riku told her to meet him here ten minutes ago and he was nowhere in sight. Was he running late? No, he would've called or texted…

"Hey."

She turned to the voice and found a man with dark short hair and sunglasses. Weird. The sun was hiding behind a thick blanket of clouds today and it didn't look like the day would be getting brighter anytime soon. What a strange man. "Can I help you…?" she asked hesitantly.

The stranger cleared his throat and shifted from one leg to the other. "It's me," he murmured.

Xion cocked her head to the side. "Huh?"

He raised a hand to slide his shades down his slender nose slightly until his jade slanted eyes were revealed. "It's _me_," he repeated.

Her jaw dropped. No way. "R…Riku?"

"Shhhhhhh!" He clapped a hand over her mouth, his eyes widening. "Not so loud!"

"Sorry," she tried to say, but his hand muffled her voice. He seemed to understand, though, and removed it with a sigh. She looked him over for another good ten seconds, her brain clouding over with confusion. "What…Why're you…?"

He pulled out his phone, tapped the screen a few times, and held it out for her to take. She looked at the screen…and nearly dropped the phone. Riku stared passionately at her, his shirt unbuttoned and revealing a six-pack she had no idea he had. His jeans hung low on his hips—a little too low for comfort, she thought. "Single and searching" said the caption below the picture.

She hadn't realized she wasn't breathing until her lungs started burning. Her heart seemed to be pounding a bit harder than usual, too. How come? Was it that look Riku gave her in the picture? It was pretty intense, she'd admit. He looked like he wanted to _eat_ her.

"That was sent to at least three-fourths of the female population in Hollow Bastion," he grumbled. "And probably to a bunch of females in some of the other worlds. Now everyone's out to get me."

A frown weighed down the corners of her mouth and her gut twisted uncomfortably. She could see why…but the thought made her chest hurt for some reason. She didn't like the idea of a bunch of girls chasing after him.

Her brow furrowed. What bothered her more was that she seemed to care whether he had girls chasing after him. It wasn't any of her business. She was just his friend.

Xion tore her eyes away from his phone. "Who did this?"

He scowled. "This jerk I know."

"Why?"

He didn't answer right away, choosing to push up his sunglasses. "Remember when I said I was working with Imani to get Cloud and Tifa together?" he began.

She nodded slowly. "Yeah."

"We started the other day…" he sighed, "and Cloud struck back."

Her jaw dropped for the second time. "With this?" she exclaimed, holding up his phone.

He nodded. "I'm sure he did something to piss Imani off, too."

"Wow…" Words escaped her. All she could do was hand him back his phone and shake her head in awe. Pensive silence swallowed them as she watched him reach up to adjust his wig.

"Can I be honest about something?" Riku blurted after a minute.

Xion nodded.

He huffed, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand and waving the other with gusto. "At first I only agreed to help Imani because of two reasons: one, she's a good friend of mine; and two, I thought it was about time Cloud and Tifa actually did something about their feelings." He shrugged. "I was like, 'Hey, this'll be kind of fun. It'll be like playing pranks for a good cause. _Charity pranks_.' It had a nice ring to it." One hand zoomed for his head—probably to rake through his hair—but stopped short and settled for pointing at the phone—probably because he realized he was wearing a wig. "Cloud made this personal after _that_, however. As of yesterday, this has become _war._"

Xion blinked. Whoa. Every word was laced with pent-up frustration. She'd never seen Riku so worked up about something before. He was always fairly calm and collected. This Cloud-and-Tifa thing must've meant serious business.

Well, yeah. It did. Riku was wearing a _wig_ and incognito, after all.

"Xion," he grabbed her shoulders and gave them a squeeze, "are you still up to joining forces with us to bring Cloud dow—I mean, to bring him and Tifa together?"

She couldn't see his eyes through his dark sunglasses, but she was positive they were blazing with ambition. "S-Sure…"

"You sure? I don't want to pressure you into anything, but we can use all the help we can get. There's strength in numbers, after all."

Oh yeah. No pressure. Xion stomped on the urge to scoff and replied, "I'll do it."

"Good." He released her to count off with his fingers. "So we have you, me, Imani, Zack—oh ho ho, Zack's gonna be a _powerhouse_ if Cloud did something to him, too—then there's Sora and Kairi and I think Imani said Cloud's cousin would help, too…Maybe Nam and Roxas can join us…You hungry?"

"Huh?" His sudden question caught her off guard. "Uh…a little?"

"Let's go get food."

"Where?"

"There." He pointed to the bakery on the corner across the street from the park. Without warning he started striding to the crosswalk so briskly that Xion had to half-jog to keep up with him. "We'll need carbs to brainstorm properly. We can grab spreads and stuff at the grocery store after." His thumb danced on the surface of his phone as he spoke. "I'm gonna call Sora and tell him and Kairi to meet up with us for lunch at Seventh Heaven…and I'll tell him to tell Kairi to tell Nam and Roxas to come if they're not busy. I think Zack's working today and Cloud's probably not gonna be there…Where's your phone?"

"Why?" Xion huffed. Her side was beginning to ache.

"I wanna give you their numbers. We need to stay in close contact."

She laughed breathlessly, vaguely wondering if this war would interfere with her reading time.

* * *

His eyes locked with hers when she entered the kitchen. He saw the signs: furrowed brow, heated coffee brown eyes, frowning mouth, slumped shoulders, fingers twitching into fists. She didn't say a word when she saw him, but it was written all over her face. She heard, she knew, and she was _pissed_.

He _loved_ it.

The door swung shut behind her as she walked coolly to the cabinet by the fridge to put her things away. His skin prickled at a slight chill he noticed as she passed him and had to swallow down a chuckle. He didn't bother holding back the smirk from tugging up his lips, though, and went back to eating his leftovers.

After closing the cabinet, she stepped around him again and took a seat right in front of him. He looked up from his food to lock gazes with her again, beginning the countdown when she narrowed her eyes.

Three. Two. One.

"You jerk," Imani growled.

Cloud merely stared back at her, shoveling the last bite of beef stir-fry into his mouth and tossing the fork into his bowl with a clatter. She honestly couldn't have thought she could get away without him doing anything. He knew how to play matchmaker, too.

"You. Jerk."

His smirk grew.

"What the hell am I supposed to tell Axel when he comes today?" she demanded, her voice dropping dangerously.

He shrugged. Axel might not have heard any—

"And I _know_ he's going to bring it up because I _know_ you told him to listen yesterday."

Oh yes he did. He often pulled out the text message conversation on his phone to relish in his accomplishment.

"Jerk."

What? Telling him the truth wouldn't hurt.

"I didn't _announce_ anything about you and Tifa. Besides, you should be happy you get to model with her."

He didn't want her modeling in the first place. That was what started this.

"At least she's taking pictures with you and not some other guy."

No "you'll thank me later" statement was going to help her case.

"And anyway, there's nothing going on between me and Axel."

He blinked, his eyes half-lidded skeptically. Liar.

"We're just friends."

Liar, liar. That blush spoke otherwise.

"Don't go spreading rumors."

Oh please.

"Zack's already pissed at you for inviting Axel to his bachelor party."

Yeah. He knew.

"If he hears about yesterday—"

"Bring it."

Her threat died on her tongue and tumbled out her mouth as her jaw dropped. Cloud smirked one last time at her before scooting his chair out and taking his dishes to the sink.

"Okay," Imani finally said after a long pause. "Fine. It's _on,_ secret lover boy. It is _on._"

He ruffled her hair as he passed her on his way to the bar, chuckling under his breath. She didn't scare him. She hardly had the guts to be in the same room as Axel for more than ten minutes. It'd take a lot to top him.

* * *

She saw him blink in mild surprise behind his glasses a moment after his image appeared on the computer screen. "Hey," Terra said. "Your hair got long."

"I know." She played with a deep blue tress, twirling it around a finger before setting it across her upper lip like a mustache. "I've been meaning to cut it but I haven't found the time."

"Been busy with work?"

"Yeah…" She nodded, twisting her lips in a frown. The tress fell from her face. "When was the last time we talked?"

Terra leaned back in his chair, taking off his glasses and rubbing a temple as he hummed in thought. "A few months ago, I think."

Wow…had it really been that long? Where did the time go? "How've you been? Ven told me about the wedding plans. He can't wait."

"Yeah. I noticed."

A giggle crept out of her throat. The way he deadpanned just now…It was nice to see his busy work schedule hadn't changed him much. "He said there's something going on with Cloud, too."

He sighed a bit long-sufferingly. "Everyone's teaming up on Cloud and Tifa to get them together," he elaborated for her. "The girl I'm paired up with for the wedding—Imani, Zack's cousin—told me to tell Ven that he's officially recruited for the cause."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Oh boy," she half-laughed. "That'll make his day."

"As hard as it may be to keep quiet about it, you mind letting me break the news to him?" A corner of his mouth curled up in a fond grin. "I want to see his face when he finds out."

"Of course."

"Thanks."

She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Are you looking forward to the wedding?"

Terra shrugged with one shoulder. "I suppose. It's about time Zack and Aerith tied the knot. I'm sure _you're_ looking forward to it," he said with a quick upward flick of his eyebrows.

She mimicked his shrug. "I suppose. It'll be a nice break from work…and it'll be nice to see everyone again."

He nodded slowly. For a moment he didn't respond, choosing to watch her carefully. "Everything okay with you?" he asked after a while.

And there it was: the perception that proved how well Terra knew her. She wasn't the least bit surprised upon hearing him ask. She could feel him begin to peel away the already-flimsy walls holding in her exhaustion. "Yeah," she answered anyway.

She knew he knew she was answering anyway, and she knew he was asking anyway: "You sure?"

A sigh crept out of her as she broke eye contact with him. Everything wasn't really okay with her. She had no time to mull on whether everything was really okay. Work took up most of her time and whatever time she had left she used to sleep, eat, or hang out with Ven…and whenever she hung out with Ven, they always reminisced about the good old days with Terra and how tempting the notion of ditching work and school to hop a Gummi ship to Hollow Bastion and _screw _the consequences, dammit, they had to _live_ while they were still young—

No. Everything wasn't okay. "We miss you," she admitted with a frown, pushing aside the memory of the most recent incident of accidentally becoming too tipsy to successfully stop Ven from sneaking a sip or ten of her vodka and orange juice.

"I miss you, too. And I would hop a Gummi ship, too, if I had the time and the guts to risk getting fired by the HBMC board."

Her shoulders sagged. It honestly sucked that one of her best friends lived several thousand miles away, eight hours ahead, and an always-packed schedule apart from her. Of course, she loved her job and she was proud of him for his, but the demands and conflicts still rained on the parade.

"I still have it."

She looked to him once more in time to catch him slip a hand down his shirt and pull up a green glass star-shaped pendant—his wayfinder.

Immediately a wave of emotion rushed from her heart through every vein in her body. "I'm glad," she told him, blinking away the pressure of tears against the backs of her eyes.

"Where's yours?"

"Right here." Her fingers took hold of the cord around her neck and pulled out her own wayfinder, letting it dangle before the screen.

Terra smiled when he saw it and let his wayfinder rest against his chest. "The wedding's only a few months away," he stated, a hint of reassurance in his words.

"Yeah," she agreed with a nod. "We just have to keep doing our best."

He began to nod…but a yawn stretched his mouth wide. "Yeah," he said the moment his yawn passed.

She smiled. He must've been exhausted. "I'll let you go. It's really late over there."

His eyes darted away from her for a split-second—probably to glance at the clock in the corner of his computer screen—and offered her an apologetic frown. "Sorry."

"It's fine."

"We'll definitely talk again soon."

She nodded. "I know we will. Take care."

A corner of his lips curled up. "You too, Aqua."

* * *

**Author's Afterthought: **Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and let me know what you think.


	22. What Fortune

**Author's Comments: **Can you believe the holidays are coming up? It's ridiculous how quickly this year went by...and I'm not even halfway done with this story yet (a thought that makes me both glad that I still have something to share and concerned that I'll even get around to sharing it). Sorry it took kind of long to complete this next chapter, but I hope you find that it's worth the wait!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Kingdom Hearts_, Gene Kelly, or Dance Dance Revolution. I own Imani and Aden.

* * *

He shot the darkening sky one last glance before pushing the glass door and entering the building. He could smell how close the clouds were to unleashing the rain, and though he loved imitating Gene Kelly (minus the fedora and trench coat and maybe the umbrella), sitting in an air-conditioned studio for six-ish hours right after getting drenched was _not_ fun. The last time he did that, he had at least fix or six listeners call in asking why he kept stuttering and giggling weirdly.

Hmm…but what if there was a stash of hot cocoa mix? That would warm him up after a dance in the rain…Someone _had_ to have an electric kettle around here, too…He frowned, tossing the idea to the side. He wasn't allowed to drink in the studio, anyway.

He waved to the new part-time receptionist (what was her name…? Oh right. Aurora) on his way to the studio lounge—a room with walls hidden completely by shelves of CDs and folders and posters of other Arpeggio 101.3 hosts (he strategically avoided glancing at his own goofy face to save himself from cringing), an old coffee table covered with papers and cups, a folding chair or two, and a worn leather couch on which Arista sat curled by one of the armrests.

A grin began to spread on his face. Demyx had time to kill. He plopped down on the couch next to her, hugging his backpack to his chest. "Whatcha reading?"

She looked up and gave a small smile when she saw him. "It's a book on palm-reading," she said, showing him the hand diagrams. "Alana gave it to me."

He mouthed a silent "oh" and nodded. "Do you believe in that stuff?"

"Not really." She gave a half-shrug and a twisted frown. "Alana used to be fanatic…but then Adrina asked her too many questions and she got tired of it."

"Ah." He could totally imagine Adrina's slightly nasal voice firing question after question at Alana and Alana finally slamming the book shut with a huff.

"Yeah." Her grimace disappeared as she offered, "You want me to read yours?"

He shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

She shifted to face him more, holding out her hand for him to place his in and flipping through the book with her other hand. "Mmkay…so…" her hair fluttered as she glanced back and forth between his outstretched palm and the page, "your life line is long and deep, which means you have lots of vitality."

Demyx chuckled. That sounded about right.

She flipped to different page, tracing another line on his palm as she reported, "Your head line says that you have a great enthusiasm for life."

True, true. He loved living to the fullest!

"Your heart line says…" she trailed off as she searched for the right page and examined his palm, "you express your emotions and feelings freely…but that you've experienced emotional trauma…"

The words—particularly those last few—sent a dull pang through his chest. Huh. It was kinda impressive how accurate this book was…

"Um, you've got a fate line…"

Arista's quiet voice saved him from the path his train of thought was headed. He quickly tugged his lips back into a full grin and prompted, "Which means…?"

"Uh, it's deep…" her finger lightly traced a line that ran down the middle of his palm, "which means you're influenced strongly by fate."

He nodded slowly. He supposed that could be true. Fate could be a bitch sometimes, after all.

"Let's see how old you'll be when you get married…" Arista took hold of his wrist and set his arm upright, narrowing her eyes at the side of his hand. She silently counted lines and whipped her head back to study her book, her bangs brushing against his hand in the process. "Wow. You're gonna get married pretty young."

"Really?" His eyebrows shot up…and so did hers, he noticed.

"Yeah." She let go of his wrist and sat back. "Huh."

"What?" he asked.

She shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know. You don't seem like the kind of person to get married so soon."

"Whaddya mean?"

"You seem like someone who'll wait until you're a hundred and twenty percent sure that you've found the one, which could take years."

A hundred and twenty percent? At the time, he must've been at least a hundred and _fifty_ percent sure…but it didn't take him _years_ to become that certain…Maybe that was the problem…

"Anyway. I wouldn't take this stuff too seriously."

He thanked Arista mentally for saving him again from getting too caught up in depressing what-ifs. "What's your palm say?" he asked her.

"Apparently I'm going to be hospitalized at one point, I'm creative, and I fall in love easily but will experience emotional trauma. I don't have a fate line."

He straightened in his seat. Her palm said she'd be hospitalized and go through emotional trauma? "You think all that's going to happen?"

"I don't exactly want it to, but it could."

Demyx _definitely_ didn't want any of that to happen to her. Arista didn't deserve to go through a breakdown of her body or her heart. "You think you can prevent any of that?"

"I think…to a certain degree, I can. Things happen, though." She shrugged calmly, hardly a trace of concern on her half-hidden-by-bangs face. "What do you think? You think you'll really get married young?"

"How young is 'young'?"

"I don't know…before you're thirty?"

"Hmm…" he thought for a few moments…then shook his head. "Eh, I doubt it. That'd only give me…eight years. I don't think I'll find someone and fall in love with her so quickly."

"You never know. Maybe if you look in the right place, you'll find her."

His shoulders began to slump as he sank into the couch. He thought he'd _already_ found her, but she obviously didn't feel the same…

"I know you'll find her."

He looked to Arista and found her smiling warmly. "Maybe not within the next eight years," she added, "but eventually you will."

A genuinely grateful smile grew on his face. Within the past fifteen minutes, she'd saved him three times. That encouraging tidbit became the icing on top. "Thanks," he told her.

* * *

Some of the greatest highlights of Namine's weeks always seemed to occur on Saturdays. This week was no different. For once, everyone was free to get together and hang out—an occurrence rare and precious enough to make everyone drop all plans of doing anything else besides being with each other. She loved that about her friends. Even after growing up together since middle school, they couldn't get enough of spending time with each other.

She caught Roxas' questioning look at her smile and simply shook her head. She knew today would be a good day no matter where the gang decided to go, especially with the addition of two relatively new friends who were new to Hollow Bastion (and, coincidentally, happened to both come from Twilight Town). Sora and Kairi proposed a proper tour of the city with visits to places the gang spent the most time.

And, upon insistence from Sora, a thorough walk-through of the arcade _had_ to be part of the tour.

"I get that we're going for nostalgia and all that, but aren't we a little old for this?" Imani deadpanned, tilting her head with half-lidded eyes as she stared at the neon sign screaming _Space Paranoids_.

Sora's brunet spikes swayed as he shook his head. "No _way_. Dance Dance Revolution is a good form of exercise."

"An expensive one."

"And you still haven't gotten your license yet, right? Gummi Ship Racers is good practice for that license test."

"No it isn't!"

"And you still have to beat Riku's high score at that shooting game!"

"Gimme a break, Sora. Do you know how long it took me to beat her score?"

Sora tapped his chin and hummed thoughtfully. Namine knew he was thinking of a way to get Imani amped to play video games. "Ohhhh," he finally drew out, his twilight-sky blue eyes glowing. "I know what'll get you excited."

"Oh really?" she asked, her voice heavy with skepticism.

"There's this new game that arrived a few weeks back." He stepped behind her, took hold of her shoulders, and began pushing her into the dark noisy room. "I think you'll like it."

"I highly doubt that," Namine could hear Imani mutter as they wandered away from the group.

"While they're busy with that, let's go to Esmeralda!" Kairi cheerily suggested. She began heading for the glass box containing a woman's still upper-half. Esmeralda's dark eyes stared into space and her hands hovered over five cards on a table.

"You mean the machine fortune teller?" Xion asked, making a beeline after Kairi. Roxas and Namine started to follow just as Kairi reached the box.

Riku trailed behind with a loud sigh. "Really, Kairi? Really?"

"What?" she called over her shoulder distractedly, fishing around in her pink bag for her coin purse.

"You still believe in that crap?"

"Hey, she's freakishly accurate."

"It's psychological."

"No it's not. I'll prove it to you."

Namine glanced at Roxas and giggled upon seeing his eyebrows arched quizzically. "Don't worry. This happens almost every time we go to the mall."

"She really believes in fortunes?" he asked.

"Well…" She trailed off, her lips twisting into a frown. She didn't want to call her cousin "obsessed"…What was the word she was looking for…? With a sigh, she admitted, "She used to be close to obsessed about Esmeralda's fortune telling in middle school." Namine smiled as she watched her silver-haired friend cross his arms and shift his weight to one leg impatiently. "It still drives Riku crazy, as you can see."

He nodded slowly, his face relaxing into a slight grin. "How long have you all known each other?"

"Kairi introduced me to Sora and Riku when I first moved here after elementary school. Eventually we met Imani and Demyx and Aden."

"Who's Aden?"

"Imani's older brother. He goes to a different—"

"Hah! I told you! Look!"

She turned to find her cousin shoving a small white card in front of Riku's face. Riku took the card with a roll of his eyes and read what was printed on it aloud: "_What was once hidden deep away has now been unearthed for the world to see—a treasure of immeasurable worth that should be displayed proudly._"

"See?" Kairi pointed a painted finger at him. "She's talking about me and Sora."

Riku paused to consider as Xion peered at the card from behind him. Within seconds he shrugged and handed the card to her. "Coincidence."

"I think not. Nam, your turn."

Namine blinked, taken aback at the sudden shift of attention her way. "Huh?"

Her cousin took her hand, slapped a coin in her palm, and led her closer to the machine. "Let's see if Esmeralda's fortunes really are psychological," she said.

Her wide eyes met with everyone and she saw the emotions painted in the different shades of blue—Kairi's excitement, Xion's curiosity, Riku's exasperation, and Roxas' bemusement. "O-Okay…" she conceded, pushing the coin into the slot to start up the machine.

Esmeralda lurched to life once more, her hands drifting aimlessly above the cards as slow, ominous music played. "It's coming to me…" she declared. "I can see it in the stars…"

"Oh please," Riku muttered. Roxas snorted at the comment…and at the groan Kairi emitted from Riku for elbowing him in the gut.

Then, a card peeked out from a slot below the window of the box. Namine pulled it out and flipped it over. She willed her fingers not to tremble and to hold tight to the card as she felt Roxas move closer to her to read over her shoulder. Clearing her throat to give herself time to smooth away all possible wavering in her voice, she read, "_Matters of the heart must not turn one blind for such matters are often two in kind._"

She could almost feel Roxas' hum at the fortune against her shoulder. "I don't get it," he finally said.

"I do!" Kairi announced happily.

"Of course you would," Riku grumbled. "What's it mean, then?"

She shook her head, her earrings jingling with the movement. "I can't say."

He scoffed. "Why not?"

"It's not my place to spell things out for Nam. It's _her_ fortune."

"Then how are you supposed to prove that the fortune's true?"

"You can't rush these things, Riku dear."

"Uh, guys?"

Everyone turned to the voice and found Sora jogging towards them, his brow slightly creased with worry. "I need help getting Imani to stop playing," he said, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder towards the entrance of the arcade. "I think she's gonna spend all her money at this rate…"

Riku and Kairi immediately jumped into action, speed walking to the arcade with the spiky brunet jogging behind. "Sora, what'd you do?" they huffed.

"I didn't do anything!" he insisted. "I _told_ her the game was addicting!"

Namine shook her head with a smile. There it was—one of them for today, anyway. The highlight.

"Uh…"

She turned to the voice…and giggled at Xion's wide eyes and Roxas' raised eyebrows. Neither spoke a word, but their surprise and uncertainty in how to react were written all over their faces. "It's okay," she reassured them, grabbing each of their hands and leading them after Riku, Kairi, and Sora. "This sort of thing happens all the time."

* * *

"Something wrong, Zack?"

He broke his fierce staring contest with the countertop and darted his blue eyes to meet a pair of acidic green ones belonging to, unfortunately, the only customer in Seventh Heaven. "Why do you ask?" he shot back, arching an eyebrow and stomping down the growl threatening to erupt at the back of his throat.

"You look like you wanna punch someone," Axel told him as he shifted in his seat, "and though I'm probably at the top of your black list, I'm hoping you're not looking to put a dent in _my_ face."

Zack's frown deepened. He set down his wiping cloth with a sigh, reaching up to rub the back of his neck tiredly. "Hate to admit it, but you're right. About everything."

Axel merely hummed and sipped his scotch, eyeing him expectantly.

"It's Cloud," Zack began, half-wondering why the hell he was sharing any of this with the redhead. "I don't know if you heard but he's been pissing off a lot of people lately, including me."

"Isn't he your best friend?"  
"Yeah, but that doesn't me he doesn't know how to push my buttons."

"Hm. True." He nodded slowly as he set down his glass and crossed his arms on the countertop. "What'd he do to you?"

His shoulders tensed and his rubbing fingers froze. He grimaced inwardly. Aw crap. What was he supposed to say? He couldn't tell him the truth.

"Let me guess. He invited me to your bachelor party."

Zack flinched as shock surged through his limbs. He whipped his head up to gape at him. "Holy—How'd you—" The invites weren't even sent out yet!

"He's your best man meaning he's in charge of your bachelor party. He's also aware of how much you hate me for being in love with your cousin." Axel shrugged. "I just put two and two together."

Guilt oozed down the back of his head and onto his slumping shoulders. It wasn't that Zack _hated_ Axel. He was just…very protective of Imani. He didn't really have anything against Axel personally. The redhead was a pretty cool guy, but not the kind of guy he wanted his close-enough-to-be-called-a-sister little cousin getting involved with.

A chuckle interrupted his thoughts. "Hey, it's cool. I get it," Axel reassured him. "What I _don't_ get is why Cloud would do something to piss you off so badly on purpose."

Zack watched Axel carefully for a moment or two. "How much do you know about Cloud and Tifa?" he asked lowly, leaning in a little.

His eyelids fell halfway over those green orbs. "Really? You're really asking me this?" he deadpanned. "It's so freaking obvious they're in love."

He backed away. Hmm…Axel was pretty perceptive. He'd only been introduced to Cloud and Tifa a few weeks ago and he saw the carefully hidden signs that only long-time friends (with "long-time" meaning years and years) could see through. Maybe Axel could be useful against Cloud…

Wa-a-ait. Did Zack _really_ want to sign him on? That would mean Axel would see Imani more. Could he risk that?

But wa-a-a-a-ait. Cloud's cousin Ven wanted to get on board, too, meaning Terra would always be close by…That would even everything out, right?

He mentally face-palmed himself. Gah, he couldn't believe he was doing this, but desperate times called for desperate measures. If Zack wanted to bring Cloud and Tifa together for good, then he needed to do whatever it took and recruit whoever he could.

"What's up with you?"

Zack blinked…and lowered his hand. So he actually did face-palm himself. In front of Axel. The day was just getting better and better, wasn't it?

With a not-entirely-suppressed sigh, he leaned in once more and muttered conspiratorially, "I know you're swamped with school and work—"

"Count me in," Axel cut him off. A devilish smirk tugged the corners of his lips up and he narrowed his eyes. "I wouldn't miss this for anything."

Zack gripped the edge of his side of the counter to keep from punching that smirk off his face. Sure Axel wouldn't miss this—not if it meant missing Imani. "I'll keep you posted," he told him as he began cursing the stupid idea of getting Axel involved in his head…and pursing his lips to make sure he really wasn't cursing aloud.

* * *

**Author's Afterthought: **I didn't know anything about palm-reading before writing this chapter (and I forgot a lot of what I read already), but I figured that Demyx and Arista would have palms that revealed those things...not that I really believe in palm-reading. Or fortune-telling. Ah jeez, Esmeralda makes another appearance. ("Another?" you're thinking? Try check out _Memoirs of the Emotionally Stupid _or _Benefriends._) Personally, I'm feeling a little like Riku when it comes to Kairi and Esmeralda. I don't particularly enjoy spending a good chunk of time thinking up legit fortunes that could come from one of those machines on the street...

I digress. Thank you for reading! Please leave a review and let me know what you think! And if I don't get another chapter up by Christmas (which I hope won't be the case), happy holidays!


	23. Damn

**Author's Comments: **Well hello there! Yes, it has almost been a whole _year_ since I last updated this story, and for that I am deeply sorry. As the saying goes, though, better late than never, right? Aside from most of the story content I had been working on becoming completely inaccessible because my flash drive shattered, I think I needed a break to refresh my mind and focus on other things (like life). Though this chapter might not be as long or as humorous as past chapters, I really hope you enjoy reading it. Thank you for waiting!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Kingdom Hearts _or the random line from _Starships_ by Nicki Minaj. I own Imani.

* * *

Today was going to suck.

He sighed deeply as he leaned against Fenrir in the parking lot of Tifa's apartment. There really was no getting out of this commission. Turning it down meant leaving Tifa alone to model with some stranger. From the personalities Cloud came across in the business, that stranger would be too stuck-up, too talkative, too flirtatious, or—he suppressed a shudder—too touchy-feely. Not to mention that the makeup artists tended to gossip too much and the photographers always, _always_ got on his nerves with their eyes roaming and staring everywhere…Then there were the assistants who snickered and took pictures with their phones to show off to their friends and the costumers who never asked before fixing the clothes, no matter _where_ the button wasn't done or the fold wasn't creasing correctly…

He lost count of how many times he'd asked himself why the _hell_ he decided to try modeling in the first place. And why he actually _stayed _in the business.

Another sigh escaped his lips as he caught the light in Tifa's window—the second from the right and the fourth from the bottom—disappear. Damn, today was _really_ going to suck. He could feel the dread building up in his bones.

The door of the apartment building opened with a squeak and Tifa trotted out towards him. "Morning," she said with a smile, her keys jangling.

He grunted in response, falling in step with her as they walked to her car.

She unlocked the car and slid into the driver's seat. "So, Mister Professional Model," she shut the door and started the engine, "got any tips for a rookie?"

He narrowed his eyes as his seatbelt clicked. Back out while you still can.

"C'mon. I'm serious."

And so was he. Call Hades and tell him you're not feeling well. Pinch your nose so you sound sick.

"Cloud."

Add a cough or two. Make yourself sound _unavoidably_ contagious.

Suddenly the hum of the engine died. She tugged her car keys out and turned to look at him. "You really don't like this, do you?"

He tightened his jaw.

"Cloud, look at me."

His eyes dropped from glaring at the stoplight and slowly—hesitantly—traveled to meet hers. Breathe in…breathe out…

Her eyebrows inched together. "Why are you so bothered by this?"

He blinked, tearing his eyes away. Did she remember…?

A few moments passed. She shifted slightly in her seat. "Is this about…that time?" she murmured gently.

He wasn't surprised. She did remember—the skipped meals, the intense workouts, the fainting spells, the smoking, the constant glances in the mirror, the obsession with looking perfect, the _deterioration_…All of that started with his first commission…with his first contact with _them_ and their leering eyes that picked out every imperfection.

Thank God she was there to pull him out. Her opinion was really the only one that came to matter anymore. Tifa saved him.

Cloud studied her hand, resisting the urge to reach out and interlock his fingers with hers. "I don't want them to get to you," he almost whispered.

Silence rang in the car as she took in his words. Then, he watched her hand make its way to his and wrap around it firmly. "They won't," she assured him, "because I'll have you there with me."

He looked up to her and found her smiling at him. Peace worked its way through the knots in his shoulders and the tightness in his jaw.

"You'll protect me, won't you?"

He nodded slowly, squeezing her hand. Yes he would.

* * *

What a turnout! Demyx's grin widened with each face his eyes rested upon. It was one thing to say that everyone knew that Cloud and Tifa loved each other, but it was a completely different experience to actually _see_ all the people who wanted them to realize their feelings for each other all in the same place, plotting a matchmaking scheme. The excitement bubbled in the pit of his stomach and a few giggles and cackles slipped from his mouth.

"No way, man! Star Seeker 3 is _way_ better than Star Seeker 2!"

"You mind leaving some chips for the _rest_ of us?"

"I'm so freaking _tired_. Couldn't you guys have planned this later in the day?"

"Terra, your laptop battery had _better _not die in the middle of this."

"Star ships were meant to fly-y-y-y…"

"Demyx," Zexion muttered, leaning towards him slightly with an impatient edge in his voice, "_please _hurry up and call this meeting to order."

He raised his hands defensively. "Okay, okay." Clearing his throat, he waved to the group sitting around the large table. "Um, we're going to start now, so…yeah. Stop talking. Please."

The chatter died down and all eyes turned to him.

"Thanks for coming, everyone," he began, grinning brightly. "So the reason we're all gathered here is to come up with a way to get Cloud and Tifa together. Before we get into that, though, why don't we introduce ourselves? Anyone wanna go first?"

Awkward silence followed his question. A few pairs of eyes darted away from him to stare at the tabletop or other parts of the empty Seventh Heaven.

"Okay, then, I guess I'll go first," Demyx chuckled. "I'm Demyx. I've known Cloud and Teef since high school. I used to be in a band with Cloud, too. Nice to meet you all." A murmuring among the group erupted quietly after he spoke and he turned to his left. "Let's go around in a circle. You go next."

Roxas' eyes widened. "Me?" At Demyx's nod, he cleared his throat and stuttered, "I-I'm Roxas. Cloud's my cousin. I uh, I met Tifa a few times through Cloud but I don't know her that well." He shrugged. "I only know they both like each other a lot."

Next to him, Namine waved with a sheepish smile. "I'm Namine. I met Cloud and Tifa through Imani."

"Kairi," the redhead next to Namine chirruped with a wave of her own and a bigger smile. "Ditto."

"Sora. Ditto."

"Riku. Ditto."

"Xion. Uh…" the girl paused, "I don't really know Cloud or Tifa…"

"But she's our friend, so ditto by association," Riku concluded.

"Zexion," his slate-haired friend said after taking a moment to roll his eyes. "I also met Cloud and Tifa through Imani."

The man sitting next to Zexion—a new face, Demyx noted—waved briefly. "I'm Terra. This," he pointed to the laptop screen facing the rest of the group, "is Ven."

"Cloud and Roxas are my cousins," the blond boy in the screen elaborated. "Ven and I met Teef through Cloud ages ago."

Demyx blinked in surprise. Dang, he looked a _lot_ like Roxas. They could pass for twins!

He digressed as Axel took his turn. "Axel. A-X-E-L. I met Cloud and Tifa through Aerith."

A laugh almost escaped Demyx. He'd caught Zack clenching his jaw and fighting to urge to roll his eyes at the redhead.

"Zack. Cloud's practically my brother and Tifa's my cousin."

"Imani. Ditto…kinda."

"Alrighty." Demyx nodded in approval, clapping his hands as if to close the subject. "Now that the intros are out of the way, we can jump right into the brainstorming! I guess if anyone has any ideas, they can just throw them out in the open and—"

"Handcuff them to each other until they confess their feelings to each other."

He blinked, his words dying into croaks. _Handcuff_ them?

Zack shook his head at Riku's…uh…sudden suggestion, his blue eyes hardening into a determined, calculated glare. "No, too humane."

Demyx almost fell off his seat. What the—? Too _humane?_

"Lock them in a closet, then," Riku said…though it sort of sounded like a _growl_. "And handcuff them."

Zack shook his head again. "Too juvenile."

"Ship them to a deserted island and leave them stranded there until they confess."

He slumped in his chair, his shoulders sagging. Yikes, Imani. Who knew she was capable of such thoughts?

Zack hummed thoughtfully as Riku began to nod. "But we'll need a boat to get them there. Or a helicopter."

_What?_ They were actually _considering_ that?

"Getting them unconscious to transport them would be tough, too. They're both fighters."

"Then it's a good thing Terra's here. He can easily match Cloud."

He glanced at Terra and found the man watching the discussion with his jaw hanging slightly and his eyes wide. The rest of the group—everyone besides Zack, Riku, and Imani—seemed to have similar expressions.

"Ven's a fighter, too. I think the three of us could take Cloud."

"But what about Tifa? She's tougher than Cloud in some ways."

"We'll knock her out with chlorine or something, then."

"Why not knock Cloud out that way, too?"

"Or maybe we can slip something into their drinks?"

"Then we can handcuff them."

"What is it with you and handcuffs, Riku?"

Demyx couldn't help frowning slightly. This meeting was beginning to get out of hand…Zack, Imani, and Riku were the only ones contributing—passionately scheming, really—while the rest of the table watched the bantering uncomfortably. "G-Guys…" Demyx tried to cut in gently.

To no avail.

"Lock them in the boiler room of Teef's apartment."

"Do you know where that is?"

"N-No…"

"Kidnap Teef and leave a ransom note with Cloud."

"That's asking for death, Imani."

A shiver rippled up his spine upon seeing dark shadows fill Imani's eyes. "He _made_ this a war to the death," she hissed.

Riku and Zack absorbed her words, their own eyes darkening and snarls lacing their hums of agreement.

Demyx tore his eyes from the three of them. Sora, Roxas, Namine, Kairi, and Xion gave each other anxious glances, shrinking into their seats and towards each other for warmth against the sinister chill in the air. Terra and the image of Ven on his laptop both had their eyebrows raised close to their hairlines. Axel had a ghost of a smirk on his face, his eyes trained on Imani. Zexion watched the discussion with an amused glint in his visible eye and the lens of his Lexicon peeking up from the tabletop.

Then, Zexion's eye met Demyx. His eyebrow twitched at the dumbfounded look on Demyx's face. _This is progress, isn't it? _his look seemed to ask.

Demyx deflated even more into his seat, his gaze returning to the infuriated muttering trio. Yeah, he guessed this was progress…but _damn_, things were getting intense…or, at least, _some people_ were.

"Cloud is going _down,_" Zack vowed.

* * *

Man, did she screw up bad this time. The moment she introduced herself to one of the assistants, she'd been whisked away to a makeup station. Two hours later, she was sent to a dressing room having armfuls of clothes tossed her way. Another hour after that, she found herself standing awkwardly in front the photographer as his eyes raked over her in her uncomfortably short, shimmery maroon mini dress.

What the hell was she _thinking_, signing up for something like this?

Tifa clenched her fists and stamped down the urge to reach up and touch her lightly teased hair or her made-up face. Her nerves bubbled and leapt and fluttered uncomfortably in her stomach as she stood near the pristine counter of the newest bar in Hotel Agrabah. People bustled around her, adjusting equipment and positioning drinks and discussing lighting and whatever else it was photographers and their assistants did at photo shoots. The barely-contained adrenaline of her nerves sizzled in her blood.

She had to do something. She couldn't stand just...standing around. She turned to the nearest person—a tiny blond girl approaching with more drinks for props—and quickly blurted, "Um…I-Is there something I can do to help?"

The girl halted in her steps, staring blankly at her for a moment or two with her deep blue eyes. Then, she began laughing incredulously, a sound that reminded Tifa of bells. "Wow," she giggled. "Uh, no, not really. It's…nice of you to ask, though."

"S-Sure," Tifa replied, slightly disappointed. What the heck was she supposed to be doing, then? Just stand around and look pretty?

Well…That was kind of why she was here…

A groan of distress threatened to rumble in her throat. Where was Cloud?

"What's wrong? Are you bored?"

Her eyes darted to the girl who was eyeing her. "N-No…I just…"

The girl shook her bangs from her face and offered a slight smile. "Usually the models bring something to do between shots like crosswords or sudoku or a book. They get a lot of downtime."

She blinked. Cloud never mentioned that…but then again, Tifa had never asked…

"Is this your first time modeling?" the girl asked as she adjusted the drinks on the counter.

"Yeah. I'm totally new to this. Sorry if I seem really confused." Those drinks looked tempting. Maybe if she downed one, she wouldn't feel so awkward about being here…

"You know, you're different from the other models I've worked with."

Tifa tore her eyes away from the glasses, a little surprised at the sudden statement from the girl. "Well, that's probably because they're more experienced."

"Yeah, there's that." She shrugged, her bright green jacket rustling. "But…I don't know. You just seem more genuine than them. Not…jaded." Her smile widened. "I like that. It's refreshing."

Seeing her smile made the corners of her mouth rise in a grin of her own. She could feel the nerves in her stomach begin to settle down. "Thanks."

The girl took a step back and thrust her hand towards her. "Tink."

"E-Excuse me?"

"That's my name. Well, actually, it's Tinker Bell, but lots of people call me Tink for short." She gave another shrug. "Either one works for me."

She nodded, taking her hand. "Tifa. Do you work at a lot of photo shoots?"

"I have my fair share. This is more of a part-time thing for me." She turned back to the counter to inspect the drinks once more. "I mainly work at Lionheart. What about you?"

"I—"

"Tink! Come help me with this."

She rolled her eyes before shooting her an apologetic look. "Sorry. Let's talk more after!" she told her, jogging off towards the caller.

Tifa watched the girl leave, a tiny smile on her face. That had to have been one of the warmest welcomes she'd ever experienced. Hopefully there would be time to chat more with Tink. She seemed like a really nice girl.

"Making friends already, huh?"

Her heart skipped a beat. She whipped her head towards the voice…and felt her knees begin to wobble. A very, _very_ handsome man stood next to her, his electric blue eyes sending shocks down her spine. His stormy gray collared shirt contoured his toned muscles perfectly. His blond bangs fell into his flawless face at just the right angles. The glint of his earrings seemed to illuminate his intense stare.

Oh God, she _knew _she was blushing.

A thin eyebrow disappeared into his bangs. "You okay, Teef?" Cloud asked quietly, taking a step forward.

Tifa did her best to smile calmly and to smooth out the jitters from her voice. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. You just…startled me."

He watched her carefully for a moment before allowing a corner of his mouth to rise in a slight smile. "Sorry."

That smile sent her heart _racing_. She curled her hands into fists behind her back and breathed deeply. She had to work with Cloud looking like the physical manifestation of sex_?_ Man, oh man, was she _screwed_.

* * *

"Zex, what do we do?"

Zexion didn't bother to look up from his Lexicon. "About what?"

"About those three's scheming!" Demyx hissed anxiously in his ear. "They're set on killing Cloud!"

"They're not going to kill Cloud."

"How do you know that?"

"How can you _not_ understand that? You've known all three of them since middle school."

"This is emotional warfare! This is heavy stuff!"

He arched an eyebrow and sighed. "Isn't this what you wanted? Didn't you want to get Cloud and Tifa together?"

"Yeah, but—"

"And I thought we agreed on using this ploy to bring Riku and Imani together with their respective love interests."

"But—"

"Those three are perfectly capable of holding their own in this _emotional warfare_."

Demyx tried croaking out a comeback…and ended up sighing. "Yeah…"

He kept his head bowed to his Lexicon but moved his eyes to peer at his dorm mate. Panic-laced voice, fidgeting fingers, tense shoulders, furrowed brow, deep-set frown, eyes staring off into nothing yet clouded with worry…He had all the signs of a nervous wreck. That was obvious.

Zexion couldn't understand _why_. Demyx should have been happy that his matchmaking schemes were going swimmingly. With the level of zeal being put into the plot to bring Cloud and Tifa together, there was no question that the two would realize each other's feelings and finally get a room. Really, Demyx didn't have to do anything—the three muttering lunatics at the other end of the table could handle things on their own.

Ah. That was it.

He set his Lexicon down and crossed his arms. "Demyx," he began, "are you concerned that the matter of bringing together two fools in love is slipping out of your hands and into theirs?"

He immediately began to protest, but whatever denial he intended to hurl at Zexion died on his tongue. Demyx deflated in his chair, his incoherent mumbling and slight nod of defeat confirming Zexion's suspicions.

Well. Who'd have thought Demyx could have a control complex.

He supposed he felt a little sorry for Demyx. His roommate had been looking forward to this meeting. The crash of disappointment was always harsher when the expectations had been risen high.

But Zexion had to cut the pity party short. No one could benefit from Demyx-in-a-slump, especially not Demyx.

Picking up his Lexicon again, he resumed his scheduling and researching. "Rather than stressing over whether their plans will succeed or fail without your direct influence, why not use this opportunity of unofficially passing the torch to focus your efforts on bringing other hopeless romantics together?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Demyx tilt his head thoughtfully.

"Not to completely abandon the cause, of course," he continued, "but to simply monitor things from afar and to arrange opportunities for development in their relationships with each other."

Demyx took a moment to consider his words. Then, the air shifted and the depressing mood sitting over his head disappeared. Demyx clapped his shoulder and told him, "You're the best sidekick a guy could ever have."

He smirked to his phone. "I know."

* * *

Cloud decided that he both hated and loved this commission.

"Someone turn the music down! I can't hear myself think!"

He hated how everyone stared at her. He knew the majority of those eyes were just watching or checking for the right angles, but there was always that one jealous makeup artist or that one lusty male assistant. He hated their whisperings and the way they scrutinized her in her really short dress. It sickened him.

But he loved that he had an excuse to stand tantalizingly close to her.

"Okay, now put your hand on her hip, Cloud."

He made sure to not comply too hastily, calmly lifting his hand to rest it on her hip. He felt her jump a little at the touch. "Sorry. You okay?" he murmured.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered under her breath.

"Tifa, put your hand on his arm and look at him."

He watched her swallow uncertainly as she hesitantly reached up to touch his sleeve. Her eyes slowly inched up to meet his. He could see the nervousness she was trying so hard to hide.

Damn, was she beautiful. He loved that he could stare at her with as much desire as he felt and not get questions about it from anyone…but part of him—the part he didn't like admitting existed—sort of wished he wasn't limited to photo shoots to look at her like this.

"Okay, now lean in to whisper in her ear, Cloud. Step closer if you need to."

Cloud complied, stopping next to her ear and letting his hand travel up to her waist. He felt her stomach clench at the unfamiliar touch. He heard her gasp quietly.

_Dammit_, Teef. She was turning him on.

"Just relax," he told her and himself. "They're almost done."

She sighed. "I hope so."

So did he. This gig was _killing _him.

* * *

**Author's Afterthought:** I'm going to make an effort to make sure the next chapter doesn't take another year to come out. Thanks again for patiently waiting for this chapter and for supporting this after a year has gone by. Please leave a review!


	24. Monday

**Author's Comments: **What's this? An update after not touching this story in so long? Does anyone even _read_ this anymore?

Oh well. Here is the next part of this long, long story (which may or may not ever get finished). If you've read this far (and especially if you've returned to glance at this thing), thank you for your time. It's definitely been a while since this was updated and I apologize for the year-long cliffhanger status. Please enjoy!

**EDIT: **Sorry, I forgot the following disclaimer. (It's been a _really_ long while since I posted anything, apparently. Please don't sue me, Mr. Nomura.)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Kingdom Hearts, The World Ends With You_, or any Disney characters mentioned. I own Imani.

* * *

Monday. It was only Monday, yet Kairi was already looking forward to the weekend. What was it about Mondays that always left her feeling drained? Her classes? The professors with the droning voices who taught those classes? The cups of coffee she downed to stay awake in those classes? She couldn't tell. Everything was always a blur on Mondays.

She collapsed onto a seat at their usual table, tossing her books aside and carefully setting down her thermos containing the soba veggie salad she tried making the night before. She was supposed to be studying, but then she had the brilliant idea of surprising Sora with lunch. The late night run to the grocery store and the trial-and-error session with Nam and Imani was fun, but she really hoped Sora would like the result.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she read Sora's message: _Heading over there now._

A tiny smile crept onto her face and her stomach lurched pleasantly. She'd get to see Sora soon. Maybe the few moments she spent with him would get her through the rest of the long day.

_Btw,_ his next message read,_ what should we do for Nam for her birthday?_

Her smile fell. She'd been wondering the same thing for the past month, actually. She couldn't believe it was this Saturday already. It literally crept up on her and sort of caught her off guard. _Idk,_ she texted back. It was good that her birthday fell on a Saturday, though, because at least no one had school and everyone could hang out for a little bit around work—

Her train of thought came to an abrupt halt when she spotted her spiky-haired boyfriend racing to the table. He slammed his palms on the table and panted heavily to catch his breath, his backpack slipping off his shoulders. "H-Hey…" he managed to croak.

"H-Hi," Kairi answered weakly. "What's the matter?"

"I…hold on…"

"Sit down, Sora."

He collapsed onto the seat across from her, laughing breathlessly. After taking a few moments more, he finally declared, "We should set up Namine and Roxas on a date!"

She let the words sink in…but they just wouldn't settle well. "Okay…but isn't that what we've been trying to do for the past few weeks?"

"No, I mean, we should get Roxas to take Nam out for her birthday," he clarified for her. "I'll mention that her birthday's coming up and then he'll be like, 'Oh no, I had no idea. What do I do, Sora?' and then I'll suggest that he take her out on a date."

It clicked. The reasoning dug deep into her mind. It was _perfect_. "She'd love that!" she squealed, clasping her hands together. "That would be the perfect time for them to confess their feelings to each other, too!"

"Right? _Right?_" Sora nodded, his grin widening. "And if she hesitates and thinks, 'Oh, but what about Kairi and Sora and my friends? I want to celebrate with them, too,' then we'll be like, 'Oh, don't worry about us. We'll plan something on Sunday.'"

"That way we can celebrate two things: Nam's birthday and her and Roxas finally getting together."

Sora nodded again, pulling out his phone. "I'll text him now."

She let out another squeal. This _definitely_ made her day more exciting. The prospects of Namine discovering a kind of happiness similar to what Kairi had with Sora gave her butterflies. She began a mental list of things Sora could suggest to Roxas as she pulled out her soba salad—

Then a thought hit her. "Wait a minute," she said, her hand shooting out to cover Sora's phone. "Should we run the plan by Demyx first?"

He blinked innocently. "But it's perfect. He wants them to get together, too. Like you said, we've been working at this for the past few weeks."

"But what if we're rushing things? We don't want to make things awkward between them and end up backtracking, right?"

He nodded. "Definitely not. I'll call him just to be safe…Ooh, what's that?"

She opened the Tupperware container and set it before him. "Soba veggie salad. Hope you like it."

Sora held the phone up to his ear while taking a bite. To her relief, his eyes lit up and he hummed happily. "It's great!"

Kairi smiled. "I'm glad."

He returned the smile, taking another bite and then swallowing quickly. It seemed like Demyx finally picked up. "Your Highness? Agent Ess speaking. Hey, listen…"

* * *

He sometimes wondered how he ended up working in a beauty salon…and why he _still_ worked at a beauty salon.

Roxas sighed deeply, propping his head up on the countertop. The day was _dragging_. Sure, there were more appointments today and occasional walk-ins kept him busy, but the hours didn't seem to be going by quickly enough. He seriously needed something or someone to spice up his day. If only one of his friends could pop in for a little bit…but everyone was in class or working and he was stuck here for the next five hours…

But maybe he could text someone.

Just as he was about to reach into his pocket for his phone, he felt it rumble. He nearly fell out of his seat to snatch his phone and read the message from…Sora?

_ Guess who's birthday is this Saturday?_

He frowned. Someone's birthday was this Saturday? Okay, but why would Sora ask him this question? Whoever's birthday it was must have been someone they both knew…

Oh crap. Namine?

_Yup :)_

Damn. She never mentioned anything to him. He'd have to plan something or get her a gift before Saturday…

_You're not busy on Saturday, are you? You should take her out if you're free._

He'd make sure he would be free…but the problem was what he would do for her on her birthday. _Any suggestions?_

_ Art exhibits, dinner, coffee, a walk in the park…_

The wheels in his head began turning. There was an exhibit at the museum in town that they could go to…and she liked Sequoia the last time they went…but maybe he should take her somewhere different? He couldn't afford Lionheart, but what about Hyperion? Or Clair de Lune?

_Maybe you can tell her how you feel, too?_

Hell no. That would make things awkward between them.

_You have to tell her eventually, you know. _

He grimaced. Yeah, but—

_The sooner the better. You know, before someone else gets to her._

That sent a jolt up his spine. Before someone else gets to her? Damn, Sora had a point. What if there was another guy who had feelings for her? It wasn't impossible. Namine was a catch—pretty, smart, talented, funny…Who wouldn't want her?

Still, it wouldn't be fair of Roxas to hold her back from someone better suited for her. She deserved to be happy. He might not have been good enough for her.

_You have to tell her, at least. That way you can say you tried._

A peace settled his jumbled thoughts and calmed his heart. Sora was right again. Two for two.

_Okay,_ Roxas texted back. _What should I do?_

* * *

Boy, was he exhausted.

He let his earphones hang around his neck as he leaned back in his swivel chair and stretched, his arms reaching above his head. A long loud groan rumbled in his throat. Saving hearts was a tough job. Maybe he should grab a cup of coffee and a scone before heading back to the dorm…That would reenergize him for all that studying he still had to do…which would probably turn into procrastinating and scheming and matchmaking…until Zexion hit him over the head with his textbook.

Aww man. Just thinking about it all made him even more exhausted. Why couldn't he make a living off of bringing people together? Why did he have to go to school and study all the time? He should just become a full-time romance counselor…but did he need a degree for that?

"Dem?"

He looked over his shoulder and grinned at the head of blonde hair poking through the cracked-open door. "Hey. What's up?"

Arista whispered, "Are you free for a little bit?"

"Yeah. Just taking a break." He nodded and turned his chair around to face her. "C'mon in."

She slipped into the room, shutting the door behind her with a quiet clack. "I wanted to ask you something," she began, rubbing one arm nervously.

"What is it?"

"Um…" Her blue eyes darted from the floor to the wall to the ceiling and everywhere else but him for a good few seconds. "I uh…You know my sister?"

He chuckled. He knew all six of them. "Which one?"

"Adella."

"Yeah. What about her?"

"She um…" Arista began waving her hands as she spoke, her eyes staring at some point near the foot of his chair. "She has this friend who's been single for a really, really long time."

"Okay."

"And Adella wanted to introduce her to new people because she's apparently ready to start dating again."

"Okay…"

"And she wanted to take her out drinking."

"Uh-huh…"

"And…" Suddenly her hands grasped each other tightly. She trailed off before taking a deep breath. "And-she-wants-you-to-come-because-she-thinks-the-friend-will-like-you-and-that-you-two-would-look-good-together." She spat out the words like she'd been trying to swallow icky cough medicine but just couldn't keep it down because it was so icky.

He reeled back in his seat. "O-Oh…"

"But you don't have to go because it's none of Adella's business to try setting up people like that especially not people who don't even _know_ each other," she ranted, throwing her hands in the air exasperatedly. "You really don't have to go," she assured him, her bangs swaying furiously as she shook her head. "She just wouldn't stop bugging me about asking you."

He nodded. "Okay."

"You really don't have to go."

"Okay."

"My sister's seriously crazy sometimes. She thought it'd be good if you came because she knows you're single and she…"

"Arista, it's fine. Don't freak out about it."

Arista nodded, breathing deeply and shaking her head. "I'm so sorry. You don't have to go."

He laughed. "I know. You told me that already."

She began to smile, but then she pointed to something behind him. "You better…"

Demyx turned and saw the song was almost over. "Oh!" He put his headphones back on, holding a finger up to his puckered lips to her as he turned up his microphone. "That was _As Long as You Love Me_ by Justin Bieber featuring Big Sean. You're listening to the Captive Heart Show on Arpeggio 101.3. I'm Myde the Prince of Awesome and I wanna thank you for joining us tonight. Thanks to everyone who called in and shared your hearts with us. Here's a little something from me to you—_The Saltwater Room_ by Owl City."

He turned the dial back down and turned back to her. "When were they planning to go?"

She blinked in surprise, her half-smile falling away. "Y…You're actually going?"

"I don't know. Maybe." He shrugged and rubbed the back of his head. "Depends on when they're going and how tired I am that day. I haven't gone out in a while."

Arista took a moment to nod slowly before bowing her head in thought. "Um…I think they're going on Saturday…"

"Do you know who else is going?"

"Uh…my sisters…their friends…"

His stomach dropped. Her sisters would be there…He frowned. "_All _your sisters?" he wanted to clarify.

Recognition darkened her eyes. "Maybe," she told him.

He nodded slowly. That definitely might change things…but…he really hadn't gone out in a _while_ and it would've been nice to take a break from studying and work…Would certain company be worth it?

Demyx glanced at Arista. "What about you?"

She hesitated, one shoulder shrugging as her lips twisted into a frown. "I don't know. I'm not into all that."

"I'll probably go if you're going."

His words caught her off guard. "Really?" she asked incredulously, her visible blue eye widened and her mouth ajar.

His words caught _him_ off guard, too. Nerves churned in his stomach at the thought of possibly seeing _her_ out (with her new boyfriend, no less), but he found himself nodding with a grin. "Yeah. It'll be fun. I owe you a drink."

"You do? For what?"

"Eh, just because you're awesome."

She mulled over his response for a moment before allowing a smile to light her face. "Okay…"

"Let me know if you plan to go."

"Okay."

He flashed a grin her way as he reached up to put his headphones on—but stopped. "Oh wait. Arista."

She spun around. "Yeah?"

"I'm almost done here." He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder and quirked an eyebrow. "You wanna grab some coffee after?"

Again her eye widened. "Sure," she murmured, nodding with a wider smile.

He gave her a double thumbs-up as he watched her slink out of the room. When she shut the door behind her, he slumped into his seat with a puzzled frown. He just asked Arista out for coffee. And promised to buy her a drink if they went out this Saturday. And essentially told her that the only reason he would go out this Saturday was if _she _would be there.

That was…different.

"_So tell me, darling, do you wish we'd fall in love?_"

* * *

She shut the door behind her with a deep sigh, tossing her keys into the dish on the shoe cabinet and stepping out of her pumps. The tendrils of stress that squeezed her chest and wound around her neck slowly eased their hold on her the further she walked into the apartment. It was only the beginning of the week and she already felt _exhausted_.

One day at a time, she had to tell herself. Just take on the week one day at a time.

"Aquaaaaa…"

Her eyes landed on the blond boy sitting slouched at the counter near the kitchenette. She heard a sigh escape him as he stared at the slip of paper he held a few inches away from his downcast face.

Oh Ven. He was staring at his plane ticket again.

She shook her head and headed for her room. "You're just making yourself more depressed, you know," she chided him gently over her shoulder.

"Why can't November come sooner?" he moaned.

Her bags landed ungracefully on her bed and she made her way back outside. "The more you think about it, the slower it'll seem." She reached over and snatched the ticket away from him. "Stop doing that."

Ven's hands hit the countertop. "Yes, _mom_."

She ruffled his spikes. "How was school?" she asked, searching for the dark folder they used to keep all their travel documents.

"Lame. Oh, but look at what Joshua did!" He rolled up his sleeve to reveal the blue ink tattooed on his arm. "Pretty sweet, huh?"

"Wow." She blinked, peering closely at his skin. There appeared to be inked explosions amidst the crosswalks and buildings snaking his skin with the word _SHIBUYA_ written below the drawing. "That's actually kind of cool."

"What do you mean 'actually'? It only took him fifteen minutes to draw this!"

"Did you show Terra?"

"I took a picture and sent it to him. He was like, '_Damn_, that's sick.'"

Aqua laughed quietly. "No he wasn't."

"If he showed his emotions more, then that's what he would've said," he insisted.

Ah, there was the folder. She picked it up off the couch and slipped the ticket inside carefully. "Did you finish all your homework?"

"Yeah. Kinda."

"Kinda?"

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it." Before she could push the subject, he asked, "Did you eat yet?"

The mention of eating suddenly brought the painful emptiness in her stomach. She grimaced. "No. I haven't eaten since this morning."

"_What?_" He leapt from his seat and dashed around the counter into the kitchenette. "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

"You never asked."

"You can't skip meals, Aqua. It's not healthy."

"I had a really packed day."

"No excuses. Terra would be pissed if he knew. You want pasta?"

"You don't have to—"

"Pasta it is. Sit down and watch TV or something. I got this."

She sighed. There was no use arguing—he was already pulling out pans and turning on the stove. She reached over to ruffle his hair one last time before retreating to the couch. "You're awesome, you know."

"I know."

* * *

**Author's Afterthought:** Please leave a review! Thank you for reading!


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